title: Bleeding risk in atrial fibrillation patients taking vitamin K antagonists: systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: Vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) prevent stroke in atrial fibrillation (AF) at the cost of bleeding risk. To determine major bleeding rates in AF patients, we conducted a systematic review that identified 51 eligible studies including more than 342,699 patients. The pooled estimate of the rate of major bleeding was 2.51 (99% confidence interval: 2.03-3.11) bleeds per 100 patient-years. The results represent the best estimates of bleeding risk that most patients contemplating VKA use may expect.
authors.affiliation: Pharmaceutical Sciences Postgraduate Course, University of Sorocaba, UNISO, Sorocaba, Brazil. luslopes@terra.com.br
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Spencer
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Neumann
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ventresca
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ebrahim
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bhatnaga
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schulman
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Eikelboom
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Guyatt
mesh_terms: D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000139:chemically induced*; D006801:Humans; D020521:Stroke / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014812:Vitamin K / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants; D014812:Vitamin K