Fondaparinux beats heparin in major study

The anticoagulant medication fondaparinux (Arixtra) was associated with reduced major bleeding events and improved survival, compared to low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) in a large randomized clinical trial involving patients with non–ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), according to a new study.

Published in the February 17 issue of JAMA, the study was led by Karolina Szummer, MD, PhD, with the Department of Medicine at the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden. 

“Fondaparinux was associated with lower odds than LMWH of major bleeding events and death, both in-hospital and up to 180 days afterward,” Szummer wrote.

The researchers conducted a prospective multicenter cohort study from the Swedish Web-System for Enhancement and Development of Evidence-Based Care in Heart Disease Evaluated According to Recommended Therapies registry, which involved more than 40,000 consecutive patients with NSTEMI who received fondaparinux or LMWH between September 1, 2006, through June 30, 2010.

Related:What is new in the anticoagulant antidote market?

They found that 1.1% of patients in the fondaparinux group versus 1.8% in the LMWH group experienced in-hospital bleeding events. The mortality rate in the fondaparinux group was also lower. 2.7% in the fondaparinux group died while in the hospital, versus 4% in the LMWH group.

There were no significant differences in the number of recurrent MI and stroke events at 30 or 180 days among the 2 treatment groups, the researchers found.