COmparison of Bleeding Risk between Rivaroxaban & Apixaban for the treatment of acute venous thromboembolism (COBRRA Study)

VTE (venous thromboembolism) is the third leading cause of death by cardiovascular disease. Standard treatment for acute (sudden onset) VTE's uses a combination of subcutaneous (injection under the skin) Low-Molecular-Weight-Heparin & oral vitamin K antagonists (drugs to keep a blood clot from getting worse) and carries significant bleeding risk. This treatment is difficult due to subcutaneous injections, drug interactions and laboratory testing. Direct Oral Anticoagulants (DOAC) are simpler to use and do not require laboratory testing. Rivoraxaban and Apixaban are both proven effective and safe anticoagulant drugs. However, because of limitations in research and not being able to directly compare them, it is difficult to be sure which is safest. Both are considered standard of care medications. Without knowing the differences in safety between each drug, we cannot be certain which DOAC has the best risk-to-benefit ratio.