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  • Thromboembolism and bleedin...
    Steensig, Kamilla; Pareek, Manan; Krarup, Anne Lund; Sogaard, Peter; Maeng, Michael; Tayal, Bhupendar; Lee, Christina Ji-Young; Torp-Pedersen, Christian; Lip, Gregory Yh; Holland-Fischer, Peter; Kragholm, Kristian Hay

    Clinics and research in hepatology and gastroenterology, 10/2022, Volume: 46, Issue: 8
    Journal Article

    Balancing the risk of thromboembolism and bleeding in patients with liver disease and atrial fibrillation/flutter is particularly challenging. To examine the risks of thromboembolism and bleeding with use/non-use of oral anticoagulation (including vitamin K-antagonists and direct oral anticoagulants) in patients with liver disease and AF. Danish nationwide register-based cohort study of anticoagulant naive individuals with liver disease, incident atrial fibrillation/flutter, and a CHA DS -VASc-score≥1 (men) or ≥2 (women), alive 30 days after atrial fibrillation/flutter diagnosis. Thromboembolism was a composite of ischaemic stroke, transient ischaemic attack, or venous thromboembolism. Bleeding was a composite of gastrointestinal, intracerebral, or urogenital bleeding requiring hospitalisation, or epistaxis requiring emergency department visit or hospital admission. Cause-specific Cox-regression was used to estimate absolute risks and average risk ratios standardised to covariate distributions. Because of significant interactions with anticoagulants, results for thromboembolism were stratified for CHA2DS2-VASc-score, and results for bleeding were stratified for cirrhotic/non-cirrhotic liver disease. Four hundred and nine of 1,238 patients with liver disease and new atrial fibrillation/flutter initiated anticoagulants. Amongst patients with a CHA2DS2-VASc-score of 1-2 (2-3 for women), five-year thromboembolism incidence rates were low and similar in the anticoagulant (6.5%) versus no anticoagulant (5.5%) groups (average risk ratio 1.19 95%CI, 0.22-2.16). In patients with a CHA2DS2-VASc-score>2 (>3 for women), incidence rates were 16% versus 24% (average risk ratio 0.66 95%CI, 0.45-0.87). Bleeding risks appeared higher amongst patients with cirrhotic versus non-cirrhotic disease but were not significantly affected by anticoagulant status. Oral anticoagulant initiation in patients with liver disease, incident new atrial fibrillation/flutter, and a high CHA2DS2-VASc-score was associated with a reduced thromboembolism risk. Bleeding risk was not increased with anticoagulation, irrespective of the type of liver disease.