ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: In global admission studies (RECORD I-IV) Rivaroxaban and enoxaparin as a standard prophylaxis were comparable in safety of treatment, but rivaroxaban appeared more effective in prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) when used in elective hip and knee replacement. The worldwide non-interventional cohort study XAMOS confirmed these results in the clinical routine compared to proven anticoagulants. METHOD: Efficacy and safety of rivaroxaban was to be compared with the standard prophylaxis in the prevention of VTE after elective hip and knee replacement surgery in clinical practice in Germany. For this purpose a subanalysis of the 2,719 patients (XAMOS-DE) included in XAMOS in German study centers was performed. RESULTS: Out of 2,719 patients in 32 study centers 1,333 patients obtained rivaroxaban and 1,386 patients obtained standard prophylaxis. The incidence of symptomatic VTE-events (0.9% with rivaroxaban vs. 1.1% with standard prophylaxis) and severe bleeding by RECORD (0.5% vs. 0.9%) and EMA criteria (2.9 % vs. 3.0%) was similar in both groups. Most of the patients treated with rivaroxaban rated tolerability as "very good" and therapy as "very patient-friendly". CONCLUSION: The results from XAMOS-DE confirm in clinical practice the favorable benefit-risk ratio of rivaroxaban, as well as the current S3 guidelines for thromboembolism prophylaxis with rivaroxaban in elective hip and knee replacement.