Is Rivaroxaban Associated With Shorter Hospital Stays and Reduced Costs Versus Parenteral Bridging to Warfarin Among Patients With Pulmonary Embolism?

OBJECTIVE: We sought to compare the length of stay (LOS) and total costs for patients with pulmonary embolism (PE) treated with either rivaroxaban or parenterally bridged warfarin.

METHODS: This retrospective claims analysis was performed in the Premier Database from November 2012 to March 2015. Adult patients were included if they had a hospital encounter for PE (an International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision code = 415.1×) in the primary position, a claim for ≥1 diagnostic test for PE on day 0 to 2, and initiated rivaroxaban or parenteral anticoagulation/warfarin. Rivaroxaban users (allowing ≤2 days of prior parenteral therapy) were 1:1 propensity score matched to patients receiving parenterally bridged warfarin. Length of stay, total costs, and readmission for venous thromboembolism (VTE) or major bleeding during the same or subsequent 2 months following the index event were compared between cohorts. Analysis restricted to patients with low-risk PE was also performed.

RESULTS: Characteristics of the matched PE cohorts (n = 3466 per treatment) were well balanced. Rivaroxaban use was associated with a 1.36-day shorter LOS and $2304 reduction in total costs compared to parenterally bridged warfarin ( P < .001 for both). Rates of readmission for VTE were similar between cohorts (1.7% vs 1.6%; P = .64). No difference was observed between treatments for readmission for major bleeding (0.2% vs 0.2%; P > .99). In analyses restricted to low-risk patients (n = 1551 per treatment), rivaroxaban was associated with a 1.01-day and a $1855 reduction in LOS and costs, respectively ( P < .001 for both). Rates of readmission were again similar between treatments ( P > .56 for all).

CONCLUSION: Rivaroxaban significantly reduced hospital LOS and costs compared to parenterally bridged warfarin, without increasing the risk of readmission.