Abstract
Introduction Atrial fibrillation is highly prevalent in patients on chronic dialysis. It is unclear whether anticoagulant therapy for stroke prevention is beneficial in these patients. Vitamin K-antagonists (VKA) remain the predominant anticoagulant choice. Importantly, anticoagulation remains inconsistently used and a possible benefit remains untested in randomised clinical trials comparing oral anticoagulation with no treatment in patients on chronic dialysis. The Danish Warfarin-Dialysis (DANWARD) trial aims to investigate the safety and efficacy of VKAs in patients with atrial fibrillation on chronic dialysis. The hypothesis is that VKA treatment compared with no treatment is associated with stroke risk reduction and overall benefit.
Methods and analysis The DANWARD trial is an investigator-initiated trial at 13 Danish dialysis centres. In an open-label randomised clinical trial study design, a total of 718 patients with atrial fibrillation on chronic dialysis will be randomised in a 1:1 ratio to receive either standard dose VKA targeting an international normalised ratio of 2.0–3.0 or no oral anticoagulation. Principal analyses will compare the risk of a primary efficacy endpoint, stroke or transient ischaemic attack and a primary safety endpoint, major bleeding, in patients allocated to VKA treatment and no treatment, respectively. The first patient was randomised in October 2019. Patients will be followed until 1 year after the inclusion of the last patient.
Ethics and dissemination The study protocol was approved by the Regional Research Ethics Committee (journal number H-18050839) and the Danish Medicines Agency (case number 2018101877). The trial is conducted in accordance with the Helsinki declaration and standards of Good Clinical Practice. Study results will be disseminated to participating sites, at research conferences and in peer-reviewed journals.
Methods and analysis The DANWARD trial is an investigator-initiated trial at 13 Danish dialysis centres. In an open-label randomised clinical trial study design, a total of 718 patients with atrial fibrillation on chronic dialysis will be randomised in a 1:1 ratio to receive either standard dose VKA targeting an international normalised ratio of 2.0–3.0 or no oral anticoagulation. Principal analyses will compare the risk of a primary efficacy endpoint, stroke or transient ischaemic attack and a primary safety endpoint, major bleeding, in patients allocated to VKA treatment and no treatment, respectively. The first patient was randomised in October 2019. Patients will be followed until 1 year after the inclusion of the last patient.
Ethics and dissemination The study protocol was approved by the Regional Research Ethics Committee (journal number H-18050839) and the Danish Medicines Agency (case number 2018101877). The trial is conducted in accordance with the Helsinki declaration and standards of Good Clinical Practice. Study results will be disseminated to participating sites, at research conferences and in peer-reviewed journals.
| Originalsprog | Engelsk |
|---|---|
| Artikelnummer | e081961 |
| Tidsskrift | BMJ Open |
| Vol/bind | 14 |
| Udgave nummer | 2 |
| Antal sider | 7 |
| ISSN | 2044-6055 |
| DOI | |
| Status | Udgivet - 2024 |
Bibliografisk note
Funding Information:CDP has received speaker honoraria or consultancy fees from AstraZeneca and Astellas. Support for attending meetings and travel from Boehringer Ingelheim. CDP also has an ongoing collaboration with Vifor Pharma including donation of a research grant unrelated to this study. DH has received speaker and consultancy fees from AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline and UCB Nordic. ELFB has received a donation of a research grant from AstraZeneca unrelated to this study. ELG has received speaker honoraria or consultancy fees from AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Novo Nordisk, MSD, Lundbeck Pharma and Organon. He is an investigator in clinical studies sponsored by AstraZeneca, Idorsia or Bayer and has received unrestricted research grants from Boehringer Ingelheim. IB has received speaker honoraria from Amgen and Bayer. JBO has received speaker honoraria or consultancy fees from Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Organon and Pfizer. LB has received consultancy fees from AstraZeneca, Astellas, Vifor Pharma, Pfizer and Novartis. LK has received speaker honoraria from AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis and Novo Nordisk. MH has received speaker and consultancy fees from AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Vifor and GSK within the last 3 years. ML has received speaker and consultancy fees from AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novo Nordisk and GlaxoSmithKline. NC has received speaker honoraria from AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb. RB has received speaker honoraria or consultancy fees from AstraZeneca, Bayer and Boehringer Ingelheim. She is an investigator in clinical studies sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca or Bayer and has received unrestricted research grants from Boehringer Ingelheim.
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Danish Heart Foundation (23015) and the Augustinus Foundation (19-2397).
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