Best practice & research. Clinical haematology
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Best Pract Res Clin Haematol · Jun 2013
ReviewNovel oral anticoagulants for thromboprophylaxis after orthopaedic surgery.
The direct thrombin inhibitor, dabigatran, and the selective factor Xa inhibitors, rivaroxaban and apixaban, are new oral anticoagulants that are approved in many countries for prevention of venous thromboembolism in patients undergoing elective hip or knee arthroplasty. All have a rapid onset of action, a low potential for food and drug interactions and a predictable anticoagulant effect that obviates the need for routine coagulation monitoring. ⋯ This review summarizes the pharmacology, clinical trial results, bleeding risk and practical use of these new oral anticoagulants in clinical orthopaedic practice. Potential issues to be considered when using these oral anticoagulants include renal impairment, potential drug interactions, neuraxial anaesthesia and management of bleeding.
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Best Pract Res Clin Haematol · Jun 2013
ReviewNew oral anticoagulants for the treatment of venous thromboembolism.
New oral anticoagulants, acting either as direct factor-Xa or thrombin inhibitors, have been evaluated for the acute and long-term treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Dabigatran and rivaroxaban are as effective as conventional therapy (heparin/vitamin K antagonists) without safety concerns. Rivaroxaban allows a single-drug regimen even in patients with pulmonary embolism, while dabigatran requires 5-7 days of initial heparin treatment. ⋯ Considering both efficacy and bleeding complications, all these agents have a favorable net clinical benefit. Dabigatran is as effective and safe as warfarin for the extended treatment of VTE. It is conceivable that the new oral anticoagulants will become the standard therapy for VTE in the next years.
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Best Pract Res Clin Haematol · Sep 2012
ReviewEpidemiology, diagnosis, treatment and management of superficial-vein thrombosis of the legs.
Recent data on lower-limb superficial-vein thrombosis (SVT) may substantially impact its clinical management. Particularly, the clear confirmation that SVT is closely linked to deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE) highlights the potential severity of the disease. DVT or PE is diagnosed in 20-30% of SVT patients. ⋯ Superficial-vein thrombosis (SVT) of the lower limbs has long been regarded as a benign, self-limiting disease, expected to resolve spontaneously and rapidly, and requiring only symptomatic treatments [1,2]. However, the perception of this disease is now changing with the recent publication of data indicating its potential severity [3] and showing for the first time the benefit of a therapeutic strategy based on the administration of an anticoagulant treatment [4]. The overall management of this frequent disease therefore needs to be reconsidered.
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The standard effective treatment of venous and arterial thromboembolism includes unfractionated and low-molecular weight heparin as well as warfarin, which have major disadvantages. In recent years, new anticoagulants have been developed in an attempt to overcome the known limitations of established treatment and develop improved therapies. This chapter reviews pharmacological properties of the new anticoagulants, the most recent trials assessing their safety and efficacy as well as potential advantages and disadvantages of using these novel drugs in real life.
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Best Pract Res Clin Haematol · Sep 2012
ReviewThrombolytic therapy for submassive pulmonary embolism.
Approximately 10% of all patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) die within the first three months after diagnosis. However, PE is not universally life-threatening, but covers a wide spectrum of clinical severity and death risk. Thrombolytic treatment is indicated patients with acute massive PE who are at high risk for early death, i.e. those patients who present with arterial hypotension and shock. ⋯ These data provide the rationale for a large multinational randomized trial which has set out to determine whether normotensive patients with right ventricular dysfunction, detected by echocardiography or computed tomography, plus evidence of myocardial injury as indicated by a positive troponin test, may benefit from early thrombolytic treatment. This study, which is underway in 13 European countries, will enroll a total of 1000 patients and will be completed in 2012. Together with a parallel trial currently being conducted in the United States, it will hopefully answer the question whether thrombolysis is indicated in submassive PE, thus terminating a 40-year-old debate and filling an important gap in our management concept for acute pulmonary embolism.