Publisher Correction: Anticoagulation to prevent ischemic stroke and neurocognitive impairment in atrial fibrillation: the BRAIN-AF randomized clinical trial

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Source: Nature Medicine

Original: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-026-04245-5...

Published: 2026-02-04

This is a publisher's correction to an article on the BRAIN-AF randomized clinical trial, which investigated rivaroxaban anticoagulation for the prevention of ischemic stroke and neurocognitive impairment in patients with atrial fibrillation and low risk of stroke.[1][3] The study was terminated early after enrollment of 1,235 patients (919 men, 316 women, mean age 53 years) based on a planned interim analysis to meet the futility criterion.[1][3][4] The primary outcome—a composite of cognitive decline (≥2-point decline on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment), stroke, or transient ischemic attack—occurred in 256 patients (20.7%), with an annual rate of 7.0% in the rivaroxaban group versus 6.4% in the placebo group (hazard ratio 1.10; 95% CI 0.86–1.40; p=0.46).[1][4][5] According to the conditional power analysis, the probability of a statistically significant effect with the continuation of the study was only 1.2%.[1][3] Major bleeding occurred in 2 patients with rivaroxaban (0.09% per year) and in 5 patients with placebo (0.21% per year).[1] Cognitive decline accounted for 91% of the primary outcomes, and the stroke rate was less than 0.8% per year.[4]