Authors: Lorenzo A Villa Daniel C Malone Daniel Ross
Publish Date: 2013/09/21
Volume: 98, Issue: 4, Pages: 390-397
Abstract
Apixaban is a direct inhibitor of factor Xa and is a potential alternative for the treatment of acute venous thromboembolism This study sought to evaluate the efficacy and safety of apixaban versus enoxaparin A systematic search of the literature for randomized controlled trials of apixaban thromboprophylaxis versus enoxaparin was conducted using three databases PubMed EMBASE and the Cochrane library Five studies that included a total of 12938 patients were analyzed using Bayesian randomeffects metaanalysis To evaluate efficacy a composite of venous thromboembolism and death during followup was measured To evaluate safety major and total bleeding events were considered The odds ratio OR for the composite outcome of efficacy was 066 95 CI 033–129 for apixaban compared to enoxaparin while there was a similar risk of major bleeding OR 103 95 CI 036–373 and total bleeding OR 092 95 CI 064–120 These results suggest a lack of clear superiority of apixaban relative to enoxaparin Apixaban is an oral alternative with similar efficacy and safety to existing anticoagulant therapies
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