Does rivaroxaban increase gastrointestinal bleeding compared to warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation?
While rivaroxaban increases the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding compared to warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation, the fatality rate from these events remains low and comparable between the two anticoagulants.
In the ROCKET AF trial, rivaroxaban increased GI bleeding compared with warfarin. The absolute fatality rate from GI bleeding was low and similar in both treatment arms. Our results further illustrate the need for minimizing modifiable risk factors for GI bleeding in patients on oral anticoagulation.
Sherwood et al. (Mon,) studied this question.