Stroke prevention using the oral direct thrombin inhibitor ximelagatran inpatients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. Pooled analysis from the SPORTIF III ad V studies.
Background: To show results of a prespecified pooled analysis of the studies SPORTIF III (open-label) and SPORTIF V (double-blind), to assess the homogeneity of the results and to explore subgroup analyses and adverse events. Methods and Results: 7,329 patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and 1 additional stroke risk factor were randomized to warfarin (international normalized ratio 2.0-3.0) or