Yang H, et al. – This current investigation was carried out to assess the occurrence of any adverse events during the initiation phase (first 30 days) of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) in adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) and atrial arrhythmias, using the NOTE (NOTE: non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants for thromboembolic prevention in patients with congenital heart disease) registry data. According to findings, among the studied patients, NOACs initiation and transition from vitamin K antagonist (VKA) to NOACs appeared to be safe during the first month, without any evident major adverse events and with only limited minor side effects.

Methods

• Researchers performed this prospective observational study, wherein, they analyzed 99 adults with CHD and atrial arrhythmias (median age 49 years [IQR 38-61], 53% male) who initiated NOACs at or after the inclusion point.
• They assessed thromboembolic events, major bleeding and other minor adverse events after the first 30 days since the initiation of NOACs.

Results

• Findings demonstrated that in 54 patients transitioning from VKA to NOACs, 8 minor adverse events (5 minor bleeding; 3 side-effects; 1 drop-out due to minor bleeding) occurred within 30 days after the transition.
• Data also revealed that no adverse events were reported in 46 VKA-naive patients within 30 days after the initiation of NOACs.