Incidence and Predictors of Worsening Renal Function in Edoxaban-Treated Atrial Fibrillation Patients Within...

Managing patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and worsening renal function (WRF) remains a clinical challenge due to the need of dose adjustment of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants.

To determine the incidence of WRF in patients with AF treated with edoxaban, the association of WRF with clinical outcomes, and predictors of WRF and clinical outcomes in these patients.

This is a subanalysis of the Edoxaban Treatment in routiNe clinical prActice for patients with non-valvular Atrial Fibrillation in Europe study (NCT02944019), an observational study of edoxaban-treated patients with AF. WRF was defined as a ≥25% reduction in creatinine clearance between baseline and 2 years.

Of the 9,054 patients included (69% of the total 13,133 enrolled), most did not experience WRF (90.3%) during the first 2 years of follow-up. WRF occurred in 9.7% of patients. Patients with WRF had significantly higher rates of all-cause death (3.88%/y vs 1.88%/y; P < 0.0001), cardiovascular death (2.09%/y vs 0.92%/y; P < 0.0001), and major bleeding (1.51%/y vs 0.98%/y; P = 0.0463) compared with those without WRF. Rates of intracranial hemorrhage (0.18%/y vs 0.18%/y) and of any stroke/systemic embolic events were low (0.90%/y vs 0.69%/y; P = 0.3161) in both subgroups. The strongest predictors of WRF were a high CHA₂DS₂-VASc score, high baseline creatinine clearance, low body weight, and older age. Most predictors of WRF were also predictors of clinical outcomes.

WRF occurred in approximately 10% of edoxaban-treated AF patients. Rates of death and major bleeding were significantly higher in patients with WRF than without. Stroke events were low in both subgroups.