The journal of trauma and acute care surgery
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J Trauma Acute Care Surg · Jan 2020
Meta Analysis Comparative StudyConsequences of pre-injury utilization of direct oral anticoagulants in patients with traumatic brain injury: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
The rapid adoption and widespread use of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) has outpaced research efforts to establish their effects in bleeding trauma patients. In patients with complicated traumatic brain injury (TBI) caused by intracranial hemorrhage, DOAC use may be associated with higher bleeding volume and potentially more disastrous sequelae than use of vitamin K antagonists (VKAs). In the current systematic review and meta-analysis we set out to evaluate the literature on the relationship between preinjury DOAC use and course of the intracranial hemorrhage. (ICH), its treatment and mortality rates in TBI patients, and to compare these outcomes to those of patients with preinjury VKA use. ⋯ Systematic review, level III.