Abstract
The existing evidence on the use of non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (NOACs) after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) surgery is inconclusive and contradictory. Likewise, major society guidelines remain ambivalent about NOAC use around the time of TAVR. The objective of our meta-analysis was to assess the efficacy of NOACs in comparison to vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) in lowering complications following TAVR. An electronic literature search was conducted using MEDLINE, EMBASE, the international clinical trials database, and Cochrane Library. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality, and the secondary endpoints included cardiovascular-related death, myocardial infarction, all-cause stroke, and various bleeding events. Forest plots were constructed for the pooled analysis of data. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were also performed. No significant difference was noted between the NOAC and VKA groups with respect to the risk of all-cause mortality (14.14% vs. 20.28%; risk ratio (RR): 0.82; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.61 to 1.10; p = 0.18), cardiovascular-related deaths (6.10% vs. 8.55%; RR: 1.02; 95% CI: 0.78 to 1.33; p = 0.91), myocardial infarction (1.52% vs. 2.51%; RR: 1.13; 95% CI: 0.50 to 2.56; p = 0.77), all-cause stroke (2.74% vs. 2.68%; RR: 1.02; 95% CI: 0.75 to 1.39; p = 0.89), major bleeding (7.74% vs. 9.62%; RR: 0.97; 95% CI: 0.58 to 1.61; p = 0.90), minor clinically relevant bleeding (14.33% vs. 13.73%; RR: 0.91; 95% CI: 0.67 to 1.24; p = 0.55), and other bleeding events. The risk of intracranial hemorrhage was lower in the NOAC group than in the VKA group (0.45% vs. 0.67%; RR: 0.61; 95% CI: 0.42 to 0.88; p = 0.008). Our study found NOACs to be non-inferior to VKAs in several outcomes, such as all-cause mortality, cardiovascular-related deaths, myocardial infarction, all-cause stroke, and bleeding events. In fact, NOACs were favored over VKAs, as the VKA group had a higher risk of developing intracranial hemorrhage.