Risk of recurrent venous thromboembolism and bleeding in cancer patients treated with direct oral anticoagulants versus low molecular weight heparin.

Risk of recurrent venous thromboembolism and bleeding in cancer patients treated with direct oral anticoagulants versus low molecular weight heparin. Acad Emerg Med. 2019 Sep 11;: Authors: Long B, Koyfman A, Gottlieb M Abstract Venous thromboembolism (VTE) occurs in up to 30% of patients with cancer.1,2 Prior guidelines have recommended low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) for 3-6 months as first-line therapy in cancer patients with newly-diagnosed VTE.3-5 Unfortunately, LMWH is associated with poor compliance due to the need for subcutaneous injection.6,7 Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have been increasingly used for the treatment of VTE, are administered orally with no requirement for regular laboratory monitoring, and may have fewer drug-drug interactions as compared with warfarin, despite DOACs possessing a greater cost compared to other therapies. Several more recent guidelines, including the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH), recommend DOACs, based on limited data. PMID: 31508859 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Accident and Emergency Nursing - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Acad Emerg Med Source Type: research