Does forgoing bridging anticoagulation prevent arterial thromboembolism and reduce major bleeding compared to low-molecular-weight heparin bridging in patients with atrial fibrillation who had warfarin treatment interrupted for an elective operation?
In patients with atrial fibrillation interrupting warfarin for elective procedures, forgoing bridging anticoagulation is noninferior for preventing arterial thromboembolism and reduces major bleeding compared to LMWH bridging.
In patients with atrial fibrillation who had warfarin treatment interrupted for an elective operation or other elective invasive procedure, forgoing bridging anticoagulation was noninferior to perioperative bridging with low-molecular-weight heparin for the prevention of arterial thromboembolism and decreased the risk of major bleeding. (Funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health; BRIDGE ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00786474.).
Douketis et al. (Mon,) studied this question.
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