• Danielle C Sutzko, Gloria Y Kim, Zdenek Novak, Sharika Bamezai, Robert J Beaulieu, Peter K Henke, Nicholas H Osborne, Adam W Beck, and Andrea T Obi.
• From the Division of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL (Sutzko, Novak, Beck).
• J. Am. Coll. Surg. 2022 Nov 1; 235 (5): 778-786.

BackgroundTherapeutic anticoagulation with either a vitamin K antagonist (VKA) or direct anticoagulant (DOAC) is often newly prescribed to patients undergoing lower extremity bypass (LEB) to aid in graft patency when risk factors for thrombosis are present or to treat postoperative venous thromboembolism or atrial fibrillation. There is a gap in knowledge as to how DOAC usage impacts postoperative outcomes compared with the standard-of-care VKAs.Study DesignTo determine temporal trends in DOAC prescription after infrainguinal LEB, impact on length of stay (LOS), and associated bleeding and thrombotic complications, patients undergoing elective LEB were identified from the Vascular Quality Initiative between January 2013 and May 2019. Postoperative bleeding, LOS, and graft occlusion for patients receiving VKA compared with DOAC were evaluated.ResultsA total of 24,459 LEBs were performed during the study period. Among 2,656 patients newly prescribed an anticoagulant, 78.0% (n = 2,072) received VKA and 22.0% (n = 584) received a DOAC, with DOAC use increasing throughout the study period. There was no significant difference in postoperative bleeding (VKA 2.3%, DOAC 1.7%, p = 0.413) or graft occlusion (VKA 1.2%, DOAC 1.4%, p = 0.762) between the anticoagulant classes. LOS was shorter in the DOAC group than in the VKA group (5.7 vs 6.8 days; p < 0.001).ConclusionsThis analysis demonstrates that DOAC use is increasing with time in Vascular Quality Initiative centers. DOACs are a safe and comparable alternative to VKAs in the postoperative setting with similar rates of bleeding complications and early graft patency and are associated with a reduced postoperative LOS.Copyright © 2022 by the American College of Surgeons. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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