Safety and effectiveness of apixaban compared to warfarin in dialysis patients

Background: The use of apixaban for stroke prophylaxis or for the treatment of venous thromboembolism in end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients maintained on dialysis is based on one single-dose pharmacokinetic study. There is a deficiency of clinical evidence supporting safety in this population.Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the safety and efficacy of apixaban compared with warfarin in dialysis patients.Patients/methods: This is a retrospective cohort study conducted at the University of Virginia Medical Center. A total of 124 ESRD patients maintained on dialysis who either received apixaban (n = 74) or warfarin (n = 50) between January 1, 2014 and October 31, 2016 were included in the study. We used multivariable logistic regression to compare the likelihood of patients experiencing a bleeding event based on anticoagulant therapy.Results: The apixaban group experienced fewer overall bleeding events than the warfarin group (18.9% vs 42.0%; P = .01); this significant difference persisted in adjusted analysis (OR = 0.15; 95% CI = 0.05-0.46; P = .001). Major bleeding events were less frequent in the apixaban group compared with patients on warfarin (5.4% vs 22.0%; P = .01). There were no recurrent ischemic strokes in either groups. A lower, non-significant, incidence of recurrent VTE was found in patients on apixaban compared with warfarin (4.4% vs 28.6%; P = .99).Conclusion: Compared to warfarin, our findings suggest that apixaban is a safe and effective alternative in patients with ESRD maintained on dialysis, with apixaban patients experiencing fewer bleeding events than warfarin patients.