A review of oral anticoagulants, old and new, in major bleeding and the need for urgent surgery.

ABSTRACT: Oral anticoagulants, old and new, are effective therapies for prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism and reduction of stroke risk in patients with atrial fibrillation. However, blocking elements of the clotting cascade carries an inherent risk of bleeding. Also, anticoagulated patients sometimes require urgent surgery or invasive procedures. This has led to the emergence of a body of scientific literature on the reversal of anticoagulation in these two settings. Traditionally, vitamin K antagonists (VKAs), which indirectly inactivate clotting factors II, VII, IX and X (and natural anticoagulant proteins C and S), had been the mainstay of oral anticoagulation for half a century. Only a few years ago, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a specific VKA reversal agen

SUBMITTER: Milling TJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6763385 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature