Rationale and Design of the Randomized Controlled Trial of New Oral Anticoagulants vs. Warfarin for post Cardiac Surgery Atrial Fibrillation: The NEW-AF Trial.

: New onset atrial fibrillation commonly occurs following cardiac surgery and is associated with increased rates of stroke and mortality. In non-surgical patients with atrial fibrillation, novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) have been shown to confer equivalent benefits for stroke prevention with less bleeding risk and less tedious monitoring requirements compared with Warfarin. However, NOACs have yet to be adopted widely in cardiac surgery patients. The NEW-AF study has been designed as a pragmatic, prospective, randomized controlled trial that will compare financial, convenience and safety outcomes for patients with new onset atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery who are treated with NOACs versus Warfarin. Study results may contribute to optimizing the options for stroke prophylaxis in cardiac surgery patients and catalyze more widespread application of NOAC therapy in this patient population. The trial is registered with clinicaltrials.gov under registration number NCT03702582Rationale and Design of the Randomized Controlled Trial of New Oral Anticoagulants vs. Warfarin for post Cardiac Surgery Atrial Fibrillation: The NEW-AF Trial.