Stroke Prevention in Atrial Fibrillation: Understanding the New Oral Anticoagulants Dabigatran, Rivaroxaban, and Apixaban

Table 1

Pharmacokinetic properties of dabigatran, rivaroxaban, and apixaban.

	Dabigatran [18]	Rivaroxaban [19]	Apixaban [20]
Prodrug	Dabigatran etexilate	No	No
Bioavailability	6.5%, pH sensitive	>80%	>50%
Time to peak, h	0.5–2	2–4	3-4 h
Plasma halflife, h	12–14	9–13	8–15
Renal elimination of active drug	85%	33%	27%
Liver CYP3A4 substrate	No	Yes	Yes
P-glycoprotein substrate	Dabigatran etexilate, but not dabigatran	Yes	Yes
Protein binding	34-35%	92–95%	87%
Dialysability	Yes	Not expected	Unlikely