The Challenge of Getting it Just Right

[...]of background antiplatelet therapy, apixaban had no apparent benefit in reducing cardiovascular death, MI, and ischemic stroke compared with placebo, but there was a significant excess in Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) major bleeding. The authors did use extensive statistical measures to mitigate these concerns, including multivariable adjustment for covariates associated with the propensity to use aspirin or aspirin plus clopidogrel, and a time-dependent analysis to account for the actual antiplatelet regimen taken during follow-up, which is important because 19.2% of patients switched antiplatelet regimens after randomization.