Apixaban vs Rivaroxaban vs No Anticoagulant to Prevent EHIT After Great Saphenous Vein Laser Ablation

July 14, 2026 updated by: sanjay srivatsa, Heart, Artery, and Vein Center of Fresno

Randomized Trial of Rivaroxaban (Xarelto) and Apixaban (Eliquis) for the Prevention of Endothermal Heat-Induced Thrombosis (EHIT) and Deep Vein Thrombosis After Great Saphenous Vein Endovenous Laser Ablation

Endothermal heat-induced thrombosis (EHIT) is a thrombotic complication specific to endovenous thermal ablation of the great saphenous vein (GSV), for which no prophylactic regimen is standardized. This single-centre, single-operator randomized trial compared a brief 5-day post-procedural course of the direct oral anticoagulants apixaban and rivaroxaban against no anticoagulation for the prevention of EHIT after GSV endovenous laser ablation performed with concurrent below-knee foam sclerotherapy. Treated limbs were randomly allocated 2:1:1 (no anticoagulant : rivaroxaban : apixaban), and EHIT was graded on post-ablation duplex by the American Venous Forum (AVF) classification.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The unit of randomization was the treated limb, assigned by a computer-generated random sequence. Some participants underwent bilateral procedures and could contribute limbs to different arms; within-participant correlation was addressed with patient-clustered robust standard errors and a one-limb-per-patient sensitivity analysis. The primary endpoint was clinically significant (AVF class ≥II) EHIT on the first post-ablation duplex, which was performed and interpreted by two registered vascular technologists blinded to treatment allocation, with adjudication by the treating physician.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
564

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Fresno, California, United States, 93722
        • Heart Artery and Vein Center of Fresno

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Adults aged 18 years or older Undergoing great saphenous vein endovenous laser ablation for symptomatic reflux Concurrent below-knee foam sclerotherapy

Exclusion Criteria:

Known thrombophilia Current oestrogen or hormone-replacement therapy Family history of venous thromboembolism or thrombophilia Active malignancy Prior ipsilateral ablation Deep venous reflux or obstruction

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: apixaban
Experimental · apixaban 5 mg orally twice daily for 5 days from the day of the procedure
Drug: Apixaban
5 mg orally twice daily for 5 days
Other Names:
  • ELIQUIS
Experimental: rivaroxaban
Experimental · rivaroxaban 20 mg orally once daily for 5 days from the day of the procedure
Drug: Rivaroxaban
20 mg orally once daily for 5 days
Other Names:
  • XARELTO
No Intervention: No anticoagulant
"No anticoagulant" · No Intervention · no post-procedural anticoagulant

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of Limbs With Clinically Significant EHIT (AVF Class ≥II)
Time Frame: Up to 1 week after the ablation procedure
Incidence of clinically significant EHIT (AVF class ≥II)
Up to 1 week after the ablation procedure

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of Limbs With Any EHIT (AVF Class I-IV)
Time Frame: Up to 1 week after the ablation procedure
Any EHIT (AVF class I-IV) - first post-ablation duplex
Up to 1 week after the ablation procedure
Number of Limbs With Remote (Non-contiguous) Deep Vein Thrombosis
Time Frame: Up to 1 week after the ablation procedure
Remote (non-contiguous) deep vein thrombosis
Up to 1 week after the ablation procedure
Number of Limbs With Treated Great Saphenous Vein Closure
Time Frame: Up to 3 years after the ablation procedure
Treated great saphenous vein closure
Up to 3 years after the ablation procedure
Number of Limbs With Bleeding (ISTH Major, CRNM, or Minor)
Time Frame: Up to 30 days after the ablation procedure
Bleeding (ISTH major / clinically relevant non-major / minor)
Up to 30 days after the ablation procedure

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Heart, Artery, and Vein Center of Fresno

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Sanjay S Srivatsa, MD, Heart, Artery, and Vein Center of Fresno

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
March 6, 2018

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
November 4, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 15, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
July 1, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 7, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
July 13, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
July 16, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 14, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • SAMC-18001
  • 18001 - Type: Other; (Other Identifier: Saint Agnes Medical Center IRB)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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