Vitamin K antagonists (VKA) and heparins have been utilized for the prevention and treatment of thromboembolism (arterial and venous) for decades. Targeting and inhibiting specific coagulation factors have led to new discoveries in the pharmacotherapy of thromboembolism management. These targeted anticoagulants are known as direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs). Two pharmacologically distinct clas...

Vitamin K antagonists, such as warfarin and phenprocoumon, are the first-line oral anticoagulants for primary and secondary prevention of cerebral embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation. Although vitamin K antagonists can significantly decrease the risk of stroke, their use is limited by several important drawbacks, such as a narrow therapeutic window, the risk of intracranial and gastro...

BACKGROUND A new group of oral anticoagulants (dabigatran, rivaroxaban, apixaban and edoxaban) with clear advantages over classic dicoumarin oral anticoagulants (warfarin and acenocoumarol) has been developed in recent years. Patients being treated with oral anticoagulants are at higher risk for bleeding when undergoing dental treatments. MATERIAL AND METHODS A literature search was conducted...

BACKGROUND Direct oral anticoagulants that target a single coagulation factor have been developed as an alternative to standard therapies with heparin and/or vitamin K antagonists. The purpose of this study was to derive non-inferiority margins suitable for randomised clinical studies designed to evaluate these agents for the treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE). METHODS We performed a s...

The direct factor Xa inhibitor rivaroxaban was the first within the group of orally available direct factor Xa inhibitors to gain clinical approval for oral anticoagulation in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation in 2011. The -xabans, as drugs from the group of oral direct factor Xa inhibitors are often referred to, comprise currently three drugs (apixaban, edoxaban, and rivaroxaban) w...

SUMMARY To avoid misinterpretation and mismanagement clinicians should be aware of the interference of new direct oral anticoagulants (DOA) on coagulation assays. A variety of oral anticoagulants targeting specific coagulation factors has already entered the market, and new indications for DOA will be released each year over the next few years. Due to their heterogeneous mode of action and diff...