Purpose: Apixaban, a direct factor Xa inhibitor recently approved for thromboembolic prophylaxis in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF), is increasingly used in patients undergoing catheter ablation of AF. However, large randomized studies supporting its use in the ablation context are still lacking. We undertook the present meta-analysis to assess the impact of apixaban in terms of thromboembolic and bleeding events in patients undergoing AF ablation as compared to warfarin.
Methods: MEDLINE/PubMed, Cochrane Library, and references reporting AF ablation and apixaban were screened and studies included if matching inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Results: One randomized and five nonrandomized studies were included in the analysis. Patients enrolled were 1691 patients (668 on apixaban and 1023 on warfarin). There was no heterogeneity in all the outcome comparisons. No deaths were reported. We did not observe any difference between apixaban and warfarin with respect to thromboembolic events (OR = 1.10, 95 % CI 0.24-5.16), major bleedings (OR = 1.56, 95 % CI 0.59-4.13), cardiac tamponade (OR 1.69, 95 % CI 0.52-5.54), minor bleedings (OR 0.96, 95 % CI 0.58-1.59), and the composite endpoint of death, thromboembolic events, and bleedings (OR 1.03, 95 % CI 0.65-1.64).
Conclusions: The rates of death, thromboembolic events, major bleedings including cardiac tamponade, and minor bleedings in patients on apixaban undergoing AF ablation are very low and similar to that seen in patients treated with uninterrupted warfarin. Although primary driven by nonrandomized studies, these results support apixaban as periprocedural anticoagulation during AF ablation procedures.
Keywords: Apixaban; Atrial fibrillation; Catheter ablation; Meta-analysis; Novel oral anticoagulants; Warfarin.