ROCKET AF Published: Rivaroxaban Noninferior to Warfarin

ROCKET AF Published: Rivaroxaban Noninferior to Warfarin
Thursday, August 11, 2011

MedWire News

The ROCKET AF trial appears in print, confirming the noninferiority of rivaroxaban to warfarin for prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).

The randomized double-blind ROCKET AF (Rivaroxaban Once Daily Direct Factor Xa Inhibition Compared with Vitamin K Antagonism for Prevention of Stroke and Embolism Trial in AF) included 14,264 AF patients at increased risk for stroke. The findings were initially reported at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in 2010, and now appear in the New England Journal of Medicine.

In the primary analysis of as-treated, per-protocol patients, stroke or systemic embolism occurred at rates of 1.7% per year in the rivaroxaban group and 2.2% per year in the warfarin group. This gave a hazard ratio of 0.79 (95% confidence interval 0.66 to 0.96) for the primary endpoint with rivaroxaban versus warfarin, which was statistically significant for noninferiority.