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Rivaroxaban for VTE prevention

Rivaroxaban for VTE prevention

Rivaroxaban, the oral Xa inhibitor, is as effective as enoxaparin in preventing venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with acute medical illnesses, but with a higher risk of bleeding, according to a new study. More than 8100 acutely ill hospitalized patients were randomized to 10 days of enoxaparin 40 mg SQ daily or 35 days of rivaroxaban 40 mg orally with matching placebos. The primary outcome of asymptomatic or symptomatic VTE occurred in 2.7% of patients in both groups by day 10. By day 35, the rates were 4.4% for rivaroxaban and 5.7% for enoxaparin (P = 0.02). However, the bleeding rate was more than double in the rivaroxaban group at day 10 (2.8% vs 1.2%, P < 0.001) and even higher at day 35 (4.1% vs 1.7%, P < 0.001). The authors conclude that rivaroxaban was noninferior to enoxaparin for standard duration thromboprophylaxis (10 days) and reduced the risk of VTE at 35 days with an increased risk of bleeding (N Engl J Med 2013;368:513-523).