An interventional study of Stepwise Anticoagulation Regimen and Standard Anticoagulation Regimen in Non-valvular Atrial Fibrillation (NVAF), Thromboembolism and Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device, sponsored by Fu Wai Hospital, Beijing, China. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in China. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-06-01.
Sponsored by Fu Wai Hospital, Beijing, China · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
This is a multi-center, prospective, open-label, randomized controlled trial (STEP-AF) designed to evaluate the safety of a stepwise anticoagulation strategy compared with the guideline-recommended standard anticoagulation regimen in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation at high thromboembolic risk (CHA₂DS₂-VASc score ≥2) undergoing cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) implantation. A total of 424 eligible patients will be randomized 1:1 to either the stepwise anticoagulation group (reduced-dose NOAC from 24 hours post-surgery to day 7, followed by standard-dose NOAC) or the standard anticoagulation group (standard-dose NOAC resumed 24 hours post-surgery). The primary endpoint is the incidence of clinically significant pocket hematoma within 30 days after surgery. Secondary endpoints include individual components of the primary endpoint and other composite outcomes of major perioperative bleeding events. The study aims to provide evidence-based data for optimizing perioperative anticoagulation regimens in Chinese patients undergoing CIED implantation.
This is an investigator-initiated, multi-center, prospective, open-label, randomized controlled clinical trial. The study plans to enroll patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation and/or atrial flutter admitted for CIED implantation, who are assessed as having moderate to high arterial thromboembolic risk (CHA₂DS₂-VASc score ≥2 points) and have received NOACs for at least 5 days before surgery. CIED procedures include implantation and generator replacement; device types include pacemakers (single-chamber, dual-chamber, and cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemakers), defibrillators (single-chamber, dual-chamber, and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators).
Eligible subjects will be enrolled after screening against the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Enrolled subjects will be randomized 1:1 to the intervention group (stepwise anticoagulation group) and the control group (standard anticoagulation group) using a web-based randomization system.
All enrolled subjects will discontinue anticoagulants 1 day before surgery and resume anticoagulant therapy 24 hours after surgery. All subjects receiving anticoagulant therapy will be applied a single elastic bandage compression after removal of the intraoperative compression bandage on the first postoperative day.
For the stepwise anticoagulation group: reduced-dose anticoagulation will be resumed 24 hours after surgery, and standard-dose anticoagulation will be restored on the 7th postoperative day. For the standard anticoagulation group: standard-dose anticoagulation will be resumed 24 hours after surgery.
Subjects will be followed up daily during hospitalization for monitor of pacemaker pocket bleeding, bleeding at other sites, and systemic embolism events. On the day before discharge, the following indicators will be evaluated: complete blood count (hemoglobin, hematocrit [HCT]), length of hospital stay, and in-hospital pacemaker pocket intervention (e.g., additional compression beyond the standard compression protocol, pocket revision, pocket hematoma evacuation, etc.).
On the 7th postoperative day, subjects will return to the hospital for suture removal, during which the following will be evaluated: CIED pocket bleeding (visual assessment), bleeding at other sites, venous blood hemoglobin, hematocrit, symptomatic systemic embolism events (including symptomatic stroke and other systemic embolism events), venous thromboembolic events, all-cause mortality, CIED-related infection, and EuroQol health index scale.
Endpoint events will be assessed by a trained team of physicians and nurses who are blinded to treatment allocation and not involved in clinical decision-making. The study will follow the intention-to-treat (ITT) principle (follow-up, assessment, and analysis based on randomization results). The superiority of the perioperative stepwise anticoagulation regimen versus the standard anticoagulation regimen for CIED procedures will be evaluated through the primary and secondary endpoints in multiple dimensions, in order to provide high-quality clinical evidence for perioperative anticoagulation decision-making for CIED implantation.
288 studies on the registry are indexed under Thromboembolism; 42 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 424 is above the median of 173 across 155 interventional studies indexed under Thromboembolism.
Browse Thromboembolism studies →Fu Wai Hospital, Beijing, China is the lead sponsor of 13 studies on the registry; 8 are open to participants now.
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Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.
The study doctor’s estimate of how long someone is likely to live. Criteria use it so that people can stay in the study long enough for it to answer its question.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
GFR and eGFR (kidney filtering)
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraindication
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Platelets
Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Life expectancy
The study doctor’s estimate of how long someone is likely to live. Criteria use it so that people can stay in the study long enough for it to answer its question.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Participants in this arm will receive the stepwise edoxaban/rivaroxaban anticoagulation regimen: reduced-dose edoxaban/rivaroxaban from 24 hours after CIED surgery until postoperative day 7, followed by standard-dose edoxaban/rivaroxaban for the remainder of the 30-day follow-up period.
Drug: Stepwise Anticoagulation Regimen
Participants in this arm will receive the guideline-recommended standard edoxaban/rivaroxaban anticoagulation regimen: full standard-dose edoxaban/rivaroxaban resumed 24 hours after CIED surgery, continued throughout the 30-day follow-up period.
Drug: Standard Anticoagulation Regimen
Experimental Regimen: For participants randomized to the stepwise anticoagulation group: 1. Discontinue edoxaban/rivaroxaban 1 day before CIED surgery (i.e., the last dose is administered on the day before surgery); 2. Resume reduced-dose edoxaban/rivaroxaban 24 hours after surgery: (1) For edoxaban: 15mg once daily for patients with standard 30mg dose, 30mg once daily for patients with standard 60mg dose; (2) For rivaroxaban: 10mg once daily for patients with standard 15mg dose, 15mg once daily for patients with standard 20mg dose. 3. Continue reduced-dose edoxaban/rivaroxaban until suture removal on postoperative day 7; 4. Resume standard-dose edoxaban (30mg/60mg once daily) or rivaroxaban (15mg/20mg once daily) after suture removal. Standard dose reduction criteria are defined per the study protocol based on renal function, body weight, age, concomitant medications, and antiplatelet therapy.
Active Comparator Regimen: For participants randomized to the standard anticoagulation group: 1. Discontinue edoxaban/rivaroxaban 1 day before CIED surgery(i.e., the last dose is administered on the day before surgery); 2. Resume full standard-dose edoxaban (30mg/60mg once daily) or rivaroxaban (15mg/20mg once daily) 24 hours after surgery; 3. Continue standard-dose edoxaban/rivaroxaban throughout the 30-day follow-up period. Standard dose criteria are defined per the study protocol based on renal function, body weight, age, concomitant medications, and antiplatelet therapy.
Incidence of Clinically Significant Pocket Hematoma
Clinically significant pocket hematoma is defined as hematoma meeting any of the following criteria: 1. Requiring surgical reintervention; 2. Leading to prolonged hospital stay beyond the planned discharge date; 3. Necessitating interruption of NOAC therapy.
Time frame: Within 30 days after CIED implantation
Individual components of the primary endpoint and composite outcomes of other major perioperative bleeding events
Incidence of each individual component of the primary endpoint (hematoma requiring reoperation, prolonged hospital stay, NOAC interruption), composite outcomes of other major perioperative bleeding events (transient ischemic attack or stroke; deep vein thrombosis; pulmonary embolism; peripheral embolism of the extremities or other major organs) and other secondary outcomes (all-cause death; device-related infections requiring hospitalization; other complications related to device implantation \[e.g., lead dislocation, perforation\]).
Time frame: 7 days and 30 days after surgery
Plan to share: No
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Fu Wai Hospital, Beijing, China