Background: Observation stays are intended to assess patients for short periods (i.e., <2-midnights) to determine need for inpatient admission or discharge. Unlike rivaroxaban, treatment of pulmonary embolism (PE) with parenteral bridging to warfarin requires frequent coagulation monitoring and dosing adjustments that may prolong length-of-stay (LOS) and increase hospital treatment costs.

Objective: To compare LOS, hospital treatment costs, and readmissions in PE patients managed through observation stays treated with either rivaroxaban or parenterally-bridged warfarin.

Methods: US Premier Hospital claims data spanning 11/2012-9/2015 was used to identify patients with a primary diagnosis code for PE (415.1x) managed through an observation stay and having ³1 claim for a PE-related diagnostic test on day 0-2. Rivaroxaban users, allowing ²2 days of prior parenteral therapy, were 1:1 propensity-score matched to patients parenterally bridged to warfarin. LOS, the proportion of encounters lasting >2-midnights, total hospital costs and risk of readmission for venous thromboembolism (VTE) or major bleeding during the same month or 2 months subsequent to the index event were compared between propensity-score-matched treatment cohorts.

Results: A total of 401 rivaroxaban patients were matched to 401 patients receiving parenteral bridging to warfarin.Rivaroxaban use was associated with a shorter LOS (-0.25 days), fewer encounters lasting >2 midnights (21.1% vs. 32.7%) and lower total hospital costs (-$240) vs. parenteral bridging to warfarin (p²0.03 for all) (Table). Readmission was similar between cohorts (p>0.99 for both VTE and major bleeding readmission).

Conclusion: Shorter LOS and lower hospital costs occurred with rivaroxaban vs. parenteral bridging to warfarin in PE observation stay patients. This was achieved without increasing short-term risk of VTE or major bleeding readmission.

Table
Table.
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Disclosures

Peacock:Portola: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Research Funding. Fermann:Janssen Pharmaceuticals: Other: Advisory Board, Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Research Funding. Baugh:Janssen Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy; Roche Diagnostics: Other: Advisory Board. Wells:Janssen Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy; Bristol Myers Squib: Research Funding; Pfizer: Research Funding; Bayer Healthcare: Other: Advisory Board, Speakers Bureau; Itreas: Other: Writing Committee. Ashton:Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC, Raritan, New Jersey: Employment. Crivera:Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC, Raritan, New Jersey: Employment, Equity Ownership. Wildgoose:Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC, Raritan, New Jersey: Employment, Equity Ownership. Schein:Johnson & Johnson: Employment, Equity Ownership, Other: Own in excess of $10,000 of J&J stock. Coleman:Boehringer-Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, inc.: Consultancy, Research Funding; Bayer Pharmaceuticals AG: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Research Funding.

Topics:
length of stay, pulmonary embolism, rivaroxaban, warfarin, patient readmission, venous thromboembolism, hemorrhage, propensity score method, equity

Author notes

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© 2016 by The American Society of Hematology
2016
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