Kikuchi S, et al. – In this study, researchers evaluated the anti-inflammatory effects of rivaroxaban and dabigatran in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) in addition to the impact of inflammatory markers on bleeding events. They serially examined the levels of the following inflammatory markers: high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, pentraxin-3, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-18, tumor necrosis factor-α, monocyte chemotactic protein-1, growth and differentiation factor-15, and soluble thrombomodulin (sTM). The final analysis included data from 117 patients—who were randomized to either rivaroxaban (n=55) or dabigatran (n=62)—at 12 months. Although study participants in the dabigatran group tended to display greater interval changes in sTM levels, there were no significant differences in the interval changes in any inflammatory marker between groups. Patients with bleeding showed significantly greater interval changes in sTM levels than those without bleeding. The interval changes in any inflammatory marker were not significantly different between rivaroxaban and dabigatran treatments in patients with AF, suggesting an association of increased levels of sTM after direct oral anticoagulants treatment with bleeding events.