Efficacy and Safety of DOACs in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation and History of Falls or Risk of Falls: The Liverpool AF-Falls Project. A Systematic Review and Bayesian Network Meta-analysis - PubMed
3 hours ago
- #Fall Risk
- #Atrial Fibrillation
- #DOACs
- DOACs are preferred over VKAs for atrial fibrillation (AF) patients but often withheld in those with fall risk due to bleeding concerns.
- Systematic review and Bayesian meta-analysis assessed DOAC efficacy (stroke/systemic embolism prevention) and safety (major bleeding risk) in AF patients with fall history/risk.
- Apixaban ranked highest in reducing stroke/systemic embolism risk (HR 0.72, SUCRA 0.87), while edoxaban ranked best for bleeding risk reduction (HR 0.66, SUCRA 0.86).
- DOACs overall outperform VKAs in AF patients with fall risk, but study limitations (moderate-to-serious bias) call for further research.
- Conflicts of interest included industry funding for some authors, though not directly related to this study.