Early versus Late initiation of direct oral Anticoagulants in post-ischaemic stroke patients with atrial fibrillatioN (ELAN): Protocol for an international, multicentre, randomised-controlled, two-arm, open, assessor-blinded trial

Fischer et al. (2022) conducted an RCT in Acute ischaemic stroke related to atrial fibrillation (n=2,000). Early initiation of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) vs. Late guideline-based initiation of DOACs was evaluated on Composite of symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage, major extracranial bleeding, recurrent ischaemic stroke, systemic embolism or vascular death at 30 ± 3 days after randomisation. The ELAN trial will randomize 2,000 participants to evaluate early versus late DOAC initiation after acute ischaemic stroke, assuming a 0.5% risk difference favoring early treatment.