Anti-coagulation

Xarelto

Xarelto is the first oral blood thinner approved for anti-coagulation in 60 years, since Warfarin (coumadin) was approved. A variety of injectable options are available; however, the oral route is preferred by many physicians and patients.  Xarelto joins the much older Coumadin as an oral medication. Previouwly Xarelto was only approved for Reduction of Risk of Stroke and Systemic Embolism in Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation. In November 2012, the

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Genetic test for Coumadin

Warfarin (Coumadin®) dose is sometimes difficult to adjust. Now there is a genetic tests that can identify people who have an increased response to conventional doses of Coumadin, which can cause bleeding. The labeling for a popular formulation of warfarin was revised in August 2007 and February 2010 to include information about how the three most widely studied pharmacogenetic mutations (CYP2C9*2, CYP2C9*3, and VKORC1 -1639G>A) affect dose requirements

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Pradaxa

Dabigatran (Pradaxa ) is an oral anticoagulant from the class of the direct thrombin inhibitors. It is oral and offers an alternative to warfarin. Unlike warfarin(Coumadin) it does not require frequent blood tests for international normalized ratio (INR) monitoring while offering similar results in terms of efficacy. On the other hand, there is no specific way to reverse the anticoagulant effect of dabigatran in the event of a major bleeding event,

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Home treatment of DVT

Deep Venous Thrombosis is a common problem and its treatment usually starts with a hospitalization for IV heparin. Home treatment of newly diagnoses DVT would be a boon to patients and reduce costs of the overburdened health care system. Four criteria can be used to identify patients with DVT for whom outpatient treatment might not be appropriate: presence of massive DVT, presence of symptomatic pulmonary embolism, high risk of bleeding with anticoagulant

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