Key clinical point: In patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF), warfarin use was linked to a lower risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and adverse COVID-19 outcomes compared with the use of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs).
Major finding: Warfarin vs DOAC use was associated with a lower risk for testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]; 0.73; 95% CI, 0.68-0.79), COVID-19-related hospitalization (aHR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.68-0.83), and COVID-19-related mortality (aHR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.66-0.83).
Study details: The details come from a population-based cohort study involving 92,339 warfarin users and 280,407 DOAC users. The OpenSAFELY platform was used for data analysis.
Disclosures: The OpenSAFELY data science platform was funded by the Wellcome Trust. OpenSAFELY work was jointly funded by UKRI, NIHR, Asthma UK-BLF, and the Longitudinal Health and Wellbeing strand of the National Core Studies programme. Principal investigator B Goldacre reported relationships with various research organizations. The co-principal investigator IJ Douglas reported ties with GSK.
Source: OpenSAFELY Collaborative et al. J Hematol Oncol. 2021 Oct 19. doi: 10.1186/s13045-021-01185-0 .