efficacy and safety of rivaroxaban on the resolution of left atrial/left atrial appendage thrombus in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients

Data on la/laa thrombus resolution after rivaroxaban treatment has not been established. the aim of the present study was to compare the efficacy and safety on the resolution of la/laa thrombus between rivaroxaban and warfarin in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (af) patients. 80 af patients with la/laa thrombus between 2013 and 2016 were randomized divided into warfarin group (n = 40) and rivaroxaban group (n = 40). compared to warfarin group, thrombin time (tt; p < 0.0001), plasma prothrombin time (pt; p < 0.0001), and activated partial thromboplastin time (aptt; p = 0.0019) were significantly lower, and fibrinogen (fib; p < 0.0001) was significantly higher in rivaroxaban group. tee shown the average length (p < 0.0001), average width (p = 0.0008) and average area (p < 0.0001) of thrombus were significantly lower in rivaroxaban group compared to warfarin group after 6-week treatments. no major or fatal bleeding and ischemic stroke occurred in both two groups. the 20 mg dose rivaroxaban is more effective than warfarin on the resolution of la/laa thrombus in nonvalvular af patients especially after 6-week treatments. the results suggest that rivaroxaban is a potential option for the treatment of la/laa thrombus in patients with nonvalvular af.