Background: Catheter ablation (CA) is a common treatment for atrial fibrillation (AF). Although rivaroxaban is increasingly used as a substitute for warfarin, its safety and efficacy during CA have not been established in Japanese patients. In the present study we explored the efficacy/safety of rivaroxaban during the CA perioperative period.
Methods and results: We prospectively enrolled Japanese AF patients scheduled for CA who had received either rivaroxaban (rivaroxaban cohort, JACRE-R) or warfarin (warfarin cohort, JACRE-W) during the perioperative period. Primary outcome was a composite of thromboembolism and major bleeding within 30 days after CA. In JACRE-R and JACRE-W, 1,118 (median age, 65 years) and 204 patients (median, 69 years) were enrolled from 42 and 22 institutions, respectively. In JACRE-R, the primary outcome occurred in 7 patients (0.6%), comprising thromboembolism in 2 and major bleeding in 5. Non-major bleeding occurred in 27 patients (2.4%), and the incidence was significantly lower in patients without heparin bridging (n=572) than in those with heparin bridging (n=546). In JACRE-W, the primary outcome occurred in 3 patients (1.5%), all of which were major bleeding. After adjustment for patients' characteristics, no significant difference was observed between the JACRE-R and JACRE-W cohorts for the primary outcome.
Conclusions: The rates of thromboembolism and major bleeding events during the AF ablation perioperative period in Japanese patients treated with rivaroxaban was as low as in those treated with warfarin. (Circ J 2016; 80: 2295-2301).