Acute Kidney Injury in Asians  With Atrial Fibrillation Treated With Dabigatran or Warfarin

BackgroundWhether dabigatran is associated with a lower risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) remains unknown.ObjectivesThe authors compared the risk of AKI in Asians with NVAF who were prescribed dabigatran versus  warfarin.MethodsThe authors analyzed patients enrolled in the Taiwan nationwide retrospective cohort study from June 1, 2012, to December 31, 2013. Dabigatran and warfarin were taken by 7,702 and 7,885 NVAF patients without a history of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and 2,256 and 2,089 NVAF patients with a history of CKD, respectively. A propensity-score weighted method was used to balance covariates across study groups.ResultsA total of 6,762 (88%) and 940 (12%) CKD-free patients and 2,025 (90%) and 231 (10%) CKD patients took dabigatran 110 mg and 150 mg twice daily, respectively. Dabigatran was associated with a lower risk of AKI than warfarin for either the CKD-free (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.62; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.49 to 0.77; p  
Source: Journal of the American College of Cardiology - Category: Cardiology Source Type: research