• Wanling Ning, Shiheng Wang, Hanqing Tang, Sichu Wu, XiaoSong Huang, Baiyan Liu, and Yilin Mao.
• Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2024 Apr 26; 103 (17): e37750e37750.

BackgroundAtrial fibrillation (AF) is 1 of the most common types of arrhythmias. At present, the treatment for patients with AF mainly includes oral anticoagulants (OACs). Studies have shown that OACs are associated with cognitive decline in patients with atrial fibrillation; however, there is a lack of relevant evidence. This study used Bayesian network meta-analysis (NMA) to investigate the effects of different oral anticoagulants on cognitive decline in patients with AF.MethodsWe systematically searched for clinical studies on oral anticoagulants in patients with AF in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library as of July 3, 2023. Cochrane's randomized controlled trial bias risk assessment tool and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale were used to assess the bias risk of the included studies. The main outcome measure was decreased cognitive functioning.ResultsTen studies were included, including 2 RCTs and 7 RCSs, including 882,847 patients with AF. Five oral anticoagulants and 2 anticoagulants were included: VKAs (especially warfarin), Dabigatran, Edoxaban, Rivaroxaban, Apixaban, and Aspirin, Clopidogrel. The results of the mesh meta-analysis showed that VKAs were superior to warfarin in reducing the risk of cognitive decline in patients with AF (OR = -1.19, 95% CI (-2.35, -0.06), P < .05) (Table 5). The top 3 drugs in terms of the probability of reducing the incidence of cognitive impairment in patients with AF with different oral anticoagulants were VKAs (87%), rivaroxaban (62.2%), and dabigatran (60.8%).ConclusionBased on the results of this study, VKAs may be the best intervention measure for reducing the risk of cognitive decline in patients with AF. Owing to the limitations of this study, more high-quality randomized controlled trials with large sample sizes and multiple centers are required to provide more evidence.Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

25 keywords...

hide…