Pharmacodynamic Drug-Drug Interactions and Bleeding Outcomes in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation Using Non-Vitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulants: a Nationwide Cohort Study

  • Maxim Grymonprez
  • , Andreas Capiau
  • , Stephane Steurbaut
  • , Koen Boussery
  • , Els Mehuys
  • , Annemie Somers
  • , Mirko Petrovic
  • , Tine L. De Backer
  • , Lies Lahousse*
  • *Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

Purpose: 

Pharmacodynamic drug-drug interactions (PD DDIs) may influence the safety of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs), but the extent to which PD DDIs increase bleeding risks, remains unclear. Therefore, the impact of PD DDIs on bleeding outcomes in NOAC-treated patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) was investigated. 

Methods: 

Using Belgian nationwide data, NOAC-treated AF patients were included between 2013–2019. Concomitant use of PD interacting drugs when initiating NOAC treatment was identified.

Results: 

Among 193,072 patients, PD DDIs were identified in 114,122 (59.1%) subjects. After multivariable adjustment, concomitant use of PD interacting drugs was associated with significantly higher risks of major or clinically-relevant non-major bleeding (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 1.19, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.13–1.24)), gastrointestinal (aHR 1.12, 95%CI (1.03–1.22)), urogenital (aHR 1.21, 95%CI (1.09–1.35)) and other bleeding (aHR 1.28, 95%CI (1.20–1.36)), compared to NOAC-treated AF patients without PD interacting drug use. Increased bleeding risks were most pronounced with P2Y12 inhibitors (aHR 1.62, 95%CI (1.48–1.77)) and corticosteroids (aHR 1.53, 95%CI (1.42–1.66)), followed by selective serotonin or serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SSRI/SNRI, aHR 1.26, 95%CI (1.17–1.35)), low-dose aspirin (aHR 1.14, 95%CI (1.08–1.20)) and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID, aHR 1.10, 95%CI (1.01–1.21)). Significantly higher intracranial bleeding risks in NOAC users were observed with SSRI/SNRIs (aHR 1.50, 95%CI (1.25–1.81)) and corticosteroids (aHR 1.49, 95%CI (1.21–1.84)). 

Conclusion: 

Concomitant use of PD interacting drugs, especially P2Y12 inhibitors and corticosteroids, was associated with higher major, gastrointestinal, urogenital, and other bleeding risks in NOAC-treated AF patients. Remarkably, higher intracranial bleeding risks were observed with SSRI/SNRIs and corticosteroids.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)133-143
Number of pages11
JournalCardiovascular Drugs and Therapy
Volume39
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2023.

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