Rivaxaban combined with antiplatelet drugs in ischemic stroke patients with atrial fibrillation and intracranial artery stenosis: comparison with rivaroxaban alone / 国际脑血管病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the efficacy and safety of rivaroxaban combined with antiplatelet in ischemic stroke patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation and moderate or severe intracranial artery stenosis.Methods:The consecutive ischemic stroke patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation and moderate or severe intracranial artery stenosis admitted to Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital of Qingdao University from August 2019 to March 2022 were retrospectively included. According to the secondary prevention drugs, the patients were divided into rivaroxaban and rivaroxaban combined with antiplatelet treatment group. The basic characteristics of the two groups were compared. The primary outcome was the recurrence rate of stroke at 3 months, and the secondary outcome included the incidence of any bleeding event at 3 months, the all-cause mortality rate, the improvement rate of neurological function, and the good outcome rate. The good outcome was defined as the modified Rankin Scale ≤2 points at 3 months.Results:A total of 108 patients aged 70.72±8.08 years old were included in the study. There were 56 patients (51.9%) in the rivaroxaban group and 52 (48.1%) in the combined treatment group. In terms of primary outcome, the recurrence rate of stroke in the combined treatment group was significantly lower than that in the rivaroxaban group at 3 months (7.69% vs. 21.43%; P<0.05). In terms of secondary outcomes, the incidence of bleeding events in the combined treatment group at 3 months was significantly higher than that in the rivaroxaban group (26.92% vs. 7.14%; P<0.05), with one death event in each group. The rate of good outcome in the combined treatment group was significantly higher than that in the rivaroxaban group (75.00% vs. 51.79%; P=0.013). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that high National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score at admission was an independent risk factor for poor outcome (odds ratio 1.370, 95% confidence interval 1.057-1.776; P=0.018), while the rivaroxaban combined antiplatelet treatment was an independent protective factor for stroke recurrence (odds ratio 0.203, 95% confidence interval 0.054-0.758; P=0.018). Conclusion:After ischemic stroke in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation complicated with moderate and severe stenosis of intracranial artery, rivaroxaban combined with antiplatelet treatment can reduce the recurrence rate of stroke and improve the clinical outcome, but it may increase the risk of bleeding.