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The Danish Warfarin-Dialysis Study - Safety and Efficacy of Warfarin in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation on Dialysis

The Danish Warfarin-Dialysis Study: Safety and Efficacy of Warfarin in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation on Dialysis - A Nationwide Parallel-group Open Randomized Clinical Trial

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03862859
Acronym
DANWARD
Enrollment
718
Registered
2019-03-05
Start date
2019-10-09
Completion date
2027-01-01
Last updated
2026-05-19

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Atrial Fibrillation and Flutter, End-stage Renal Disease, Major Bleed, Stroke

Brief summary

The study aims to evaluate the appropriateness of initiating oral anticoagulation for stroke risk reduction in dialysis populations with atrial fibrillation. Specifically, the study will assess the overall safety, tolerability, and efficacy of initiating treatment with Warfarin in patients with end-stage renal disease on dialysis and atrial fibrillation.

Detailed description

Data pertaining to the tolerability, safety, and benefit of initiating anticoagulation for stroke risk reduction in patients with end-stage renal disease and atrial fibrillation remains conflicting and insufficient. Patients on dialysis continue to be routinely excluded from randomized controlled trials, and evidence from observational studies is plausibly biased. The main objective of the following parallel-group open randomized clinical trial presents a nationwide study aimed at investigating the benefit, tolerability, and safety of initiating warfarin versus no treatment in patients with atrial fibrillation on dialysis. The anticipated results from this project will provide conclusive evidence as to the appropriateness of initiating oral anticoagulation for stroke risk reduction in dialysis populations with atrial fibrillation with direct effects on clinical management and international guidelines pertaining to these patients. The study is planned as a multicentre, randomized, open label, parallel group trial with planned inclusion of a total of 718 patients (359 patients per arm). Dialysis-treated patients with end-stage renal disease with paroxysmal, persistent, or permanent atrial fibrillation will be enrolled and randomized to either treatment with warfarin or no treatment. Randomization with be attained using a 1:1 allocation as per a computer-generated randomization schedule stratified by gender, age by decade, and center using permuted blocks of random sizes. Study participants will be allocated to treatment in accordance with the randomization for the full duration of the trial i.e. at a minimum one year following randomization, and followed with regular monitoring for the the primary efficacy outcome of ischemic stroke or death due to ischemic or unspecified stroke and the primary safety outcome of major bleeding defined in accordance with the International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis definition.

Interventions

DRUGWarfarin

Dose adjusted Warfarin targeting an international normalized ratio of 2-3.

Sponsors

Nicholas Carlson
Lead SponsorOTHER
Danish Heart Foundation
CollaboratorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE

Masking description

None (Open Label

Intervention model description

A multicentre, randomized, open label, parallel group study.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Patients ≥18 years on chronic dialysis due to end-stage renal disease * Non-valvular paroxysmal, persistent, or permanent atrial fibrillation OR non-treated (for \>2 months) prevalent paroxysmal, persistent or permanent atrial fibrillation as documented by an electrocardiogram or an episode of ≥30 seconds on Holter monitor, or episodes ≥ 6 minutes on event recorders or any other recording device. * Competence to understand the study rationale, including potential risks and benefits associated with treatment, necessary for written informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

* CHA2DS2-VASc Score ≤1 * Other indications for oral anticoagulation treatment (pulmonary embolism \< 6 months, deep vein thrombosis \<3 months, mechanical heart valve prosthesis) irrespective of whether treatment is implemented * Ongoing dual antiplatelet treatment * Malignancy (with exception of non-melanoma skin cancer) with recent \< 1 year, ongoing, or planned curative, or palliative chemo- , radiation-, and/or scheduled surgical therapy * Endoscopy with gastrointestinal ulcer \<1 month * Esophageal varices * Autoimmune og genetic coagulation disorders * Congenital alactasia, Lapp Lactase deficiency or glucose-galactose malabsorption * Pending spinal tap * Cerebrovascular malformations * Arterial aneurysms * Ulcers or wounds (Wagner grad \>1) * Bacterial endocarditis \< 3 months * Active bleeding contraindicating anticoagulation * Any non-elective and/or non-ambulant surgery \<7 days * Cerebral hemorrhage \<4 weeks * Thrombocytopenia (platelet count \<100 × 109/L) \<30 days. * Severe liver insufficiency (spontaneous international normalized ratio \>1.5) \<30 days. * Known intolerance to warfarin * Use of hypericum perforatum / St. John's Wort * Uncontrolled hypertension (repeat blood pressure \>180/110 mmhg) \< 30 days * Uncontrolled hyperthyroidism (thyroid-stimulating hormone \<0.1μIU/mL) \<30 days * Pregnancy or lactation * Participation in other ongoing intervention trials adjudged to influence study outcomes

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Primary efficacy outcome - Number of participants with transient ischemic attack, fatal and non-fatal ischaemic or unspecific strokeFrom randomization to end of observation - up to 4 yearsAny transient ischemic attack, fatal and non-fatal ischaemic or unspecific stroke or death attributable to either ischemic or undefined stroke
Primary safety outcome - Number of participants with fatal or non-fatal major bleedingFrom randomization to end of observation - up to 4 yearsAny major bleeding as defined in accordance with the International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis definition pertaining to major bleeding in non-surgical patients

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Number of participants with ischemic or unspecified strokeFrom time of randomization to end of observation - up to 4 yearsAny non-fatal or fatal ischemic stroke or unspecified stroke event
Number of participants with ischemic strokeFrom time of randomization to end of observation - up to 4 yearsAny non-fatal or fatal ischemic stroke event
Number of participants with hemorrhagic strokeFrom time of randomization to end of observation - up to 4 yearsAny non-fatal or fatal hemorrhagic stroke event
Number of participants with ischemic or hemorrhagic strokeFrom time of randomization to end of observation - up to 4 yearsAny non-fatal or fatal ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke event
Number of deathsFrom time of randomization to end of observation - up to 4 yearsAll-cause mortality
The combination of any non-fatal stroke and all-cause mortalityFrom time of randomization to end of observation - up to 4 yearsNumber of participants with either non-fatal ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke of death due to any cause
The combination of any non-fatal stroke, any non-fatal major bleeding, and all-cause mortalityFrom time of randomization to end of observation - up to 4 yearsNumber of participants with either non-fatal ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke, any non-fatal major bleeding as defined in accordance with the International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis definition pertaining to major bleeding in non-surgical patients, or death due to any cause

Countries

Denmark

Contacts

CONTACTNicholas Carlson, MD PhD Ass. Prof
nicholas.carlson.01@regionh.dk+45 35455927
CONTACTEllen LF Ballegaard, MD PhD
ellen.linnea.freese.ballegaard@regionh.dk
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORNicholas Carlson, MD PhD

Department of Nephrology, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet

STUDY_CHAIRAnne-Lise Kamper, MD DMSc

Department of Nephrology, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet

STUDY_CHAIRChristian Torp-Pedersen, Prof MD DMSc

Department of Cardiology, North Zealand Hospital

STUDY_CHAIRDitte Hansen, MD PhD

Department of Nephrology, Copenhagen University Hospital Herlev

STUDY_CHAIRMads Hornum, Prof MD PhD

Department of Nephrology, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet

STUDY_CHAIRErik Grove, MD PhD

Department of Cardiology, Aarhus University Hospital

STUDY_CHAIREllen Linnea F Ballegaard, MD

Department of Nephrology, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet

STUDY_CHAIRChristian D Peters, MD PhD

Department of Nephrology, Aarhus University Hospital

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: May 20, 2026