The real prize of direct oral anticoagulant blockbuster

Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs)—apixaban, dabigatran, edoxaban and rivaroxaban—turned out to be convenient and to bear a lower risk of intracerebral haemorrhage3 compared with vitamin K antagonists overall resulting in a net benefit for patients.4 Widespread use in patients with atrial fibrillation—particularly among those who did not receive anticoagulant therapy due to one of the aforementioned limitations of vitamin K antagonist treatment—was expected. [...]Orlowski et al provide reassuring data for all stakeholders in a national, solidary healthcare system and a new, additional and significant argument why we should prescribe DOACs to patients with a clear indication. Association of preceding antithrombotic treatment with acute ischemic stroke severity and in-hospital outcomes among patients with atrial fibrillation.