Rivaroxaban reduces risk of life-threatening blood clots

A new review has shown that the drug rivaroxaban may be more effective than other treatments at preventing life-threatening blood clots in patients who have recently undergone hip or knee replacement surgery.

Joint replacements are often recommended for people whose hip or knee joints have been badly damaged by severe arthritis.

However, some patients subsequently develop blood clots in the deep veins of the leg which may detach and become stuck in the lungs in rare cases.

A number of therapies - including rivaroxaban and another drug called enoxaparin - help to reduce this risk, but new research suggests that the former may be more effective than the latter.

Scientists at the University of Michigan reviewed studies in which 13,398 patients had been given rivaroxaban or enoxaparin.

Overall, they found that patients who were given rivaroxaban benefited from a 50.7 per cent risk reduction compared with those given enoxaparin, according to a report on MedPage Today.

Just 229 patients experienced deep vein thromboses after receiving rivaroxaban, compared with 464 of the patients who were given the other drug.

Furthermore, 13 rivaroxaban users went on to suffer from pulmonary embolism - which occurs when the clot detaches and becomes stuck in the lungs - compared with 17 such cases among patients given enoxaparin.

Although there was a slightly higher risk of excessive bleeding among patients taking rivaroxaban, the increase was not statistically significant.

Dr Umesh Tamhane, who presented the findings at the Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association, told MedPage Today: "Among patients undergoing major orthopaedic surgery, rivaroxaban may be a more effective agent for thromboprophylaxis than enoxaparin, without increasing major bleeding."

A spokeswoman for the Arthritis Research Campaign welcomed the results and added that the drug had been approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) for use in the UK earlier this year.

© Adfero Ltd

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