• Erin R Weeda, W Frank Peacock, Gregory J Fermann, Christopher W Baugh, Philip S Wells, Veronica Ashton, Concetta Crivera, Peter Wildgoose, Jeff R Schein, and Craig I Coleman.
• University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy, Storrs, CT, USA.
• Int. J. Clin. Pract. 2017 Jan 1; 71 (1).

BackgroundUnlike rivaroxaban, treatment of patients with pulmonary embolism (PE) with warfarin requires parenteral bridging and coagulation monitoring that may prolong length-of-stay (LOS) and increase hospital costs.AimsThe aim of this study was to compare LOS, hospital costs and readmissions in PE patients managed through observation stays treated with rivaroxaban or parenterally bridged warfarin.MethodsPremier Hospital claims data from November 2012 to March 2015 were used to identify patients with a primary diagnosis code for PE managed through an observation stay and with ≥1 claim for a PE-related diagnostic test on day 0-2. Rivaroxaban users, allowing ≤2 days of prior parenteral therapy, were 1:1 propensity-score matched to patients receiving parenterally bridged warfarin. LOS, the proportion of encounters lasting >2 midnights, total hospital costs of the index visit and risk of readmission for venous thromboembolism (VTE) or major bleeding during the same month or 2 months subsequent to the index event were compared between matched cohorts using multivariable regression.ResultsA total of 312 rivaroxaban users were matched to 312 patients receiving parenterally bridged warfarin. Rivaroxaban was associated with an average of 0.27-day shorter LOS, a 52% decreased odds of an encounter lasting >2 midnights and a $403 mean reduction in costs vs parenterally bridged warfarin (P≤.002 for all). The readmission rate for VTE during the same or subsequent 2 months following the index PE was similar between cohorts (P=.75). No patient in either cohort was readmitted for major bleeding.ConclusionRivaroxaban was associated with shortened LOS and lowered cost vs parenterally bridged warfarin in PE observation stay patients, without increases in the short-term rate of complications or readmission.© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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