Context

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a common disease with potentially life-threatening consequences. Current guidelines1 recommend immediate start of anticoagulation with heparin for at least 5 days. Thereafter, heparin may be replaced by vitamin K antagonists (VKAs). The EINSTEIN-PE study tested rivaroxaban for the treatment of acute PE. Rivaroxaban, an oral anti-Xa antagonist, has the major advantage of oral administration with a fixed dose. This drug has been tested so far for thromboprophylaxis after orthopaedic surgery and for patients with atrial fibrillation. The applied therapeutic regimen of rivaroxaban was also already tested for acute deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) in the EINSTEIN-DVT trial.2