Update: Study Finds No Evidence That DOAC Use Reduces Risk for Severe COVID-19

Published on December 4, 2020

Anecdotal evidence that ongoing direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) use might reduce a patient’s risk for severe disease with COVID-19 appears to have been wishful thinking, if the results of a study just published in the Journal of Internal Medicine are any indication. The authors found no association between DOAC use and lower incidence of hospital admission for COVID-19, or a composite of intensive care unit admission of death. As such, they concluded that DOAC use does not change the prognosis for patients with COVID-19. The study reflects analysis of 103,703 patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, 36,875 who had AFib but were not DOAC users, and 355,699 with cardiovascular disease who were not DOAC users.