Clinical and Economic Consequences of a First Major Bleeding Event in Patients Treated with Direct Factor Xa Inhibitors in Spain: A Long-Term Observational Study

Aims: Our aims were to describe the clinical characteristics, adverse clinical events, healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and costs of patients with major bleeding during direct Factor Xa inhibitor (FXai) use. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study that included secondary data from computerized health records of seven Spanish Autonomous Communities. Patients with a first major bleeding during treatment with a direct FXai were analyzed during a 3-year period. Results: Of 8972 patients taking a direct FXai, 470 (5.24%) had major bleeding (mean age (SD) 77.93 (9.71) years, 61.06% women). The most frequent indications for using FXais were atrial fibrillation (78.09%) and venous thromboembolism (17.66%). Among those with major bleeding, 88.94% presented with gastrointestinal bleeding, 6.81% intracranial bleeding, 2.13% trauma-related bleeding and 4.26% other major bleeding. Prothrombin complex concentrates were used in 63.19%, followed by transfusion of blood products (20.21%) and Factor VIIa (7.66%). In total, 4.26% of patients died in the hospital due to the first major bleeding. At the study end (after 3-year follow-up), 28.94% of the patients had died, 12.34% had a myocardial infarction and 9.15% an ischemic stroke. At year 3, overall bleeding cost was EUR 5,816,930.5, of which 79.74% accounted for in-hospital costs to treat the bleeding episode. Conclusions: Despite the use of replacement agents being high, major events were common, with a 29% mortality at the end of the follow up, and HCRU and costs were high, evidencing the need for new reversal treatment strategies.