ANTICOAGULANTS: A CHANGING LANDSCAPE
The search to improve postsurgical patient care
Protecting patients undergoing orthopedic surgery from
VTE requires improvements in anticoagulant prophylaxis.28
Anticoagulant targets currently under investigation by researchers are aimed at developing VTE prophylaxis strategies with the following properties:
- Oral administration20
- Highly effective in reducing VTE21
- Predictable dose response21
- No routine coagulation monitoring required20
- Wide therapeutic window20
- No dose adjustment required20
- Little interaction with food or other medications20,21
- Low, nonspecific plasma protein binding20
- Inhibition of both free and clot-bound coagulation factors20
- Rapid onset of action20,21
Coagulation Cascade and anticoagulantsFACT:
Because of its key position in the coagulation cascade and its limited roles outside of coagulation,
Factor Xa has emerged as an attractive target for novel anticoagulants. 18
— Alexander G.G. Turpie
Professor of Medicine
McMaster University
Hamilton, Ontario
Canada
Direct Factor Xa Inhibitors—a Novel Approach to Anticoagulation Targets
Ongoing research suggests that direct Factor Xa inhibitors have the potential to advance the field of anticoagulation prophylaxis.20
Effective Antithrombotic Strategy by Sylvia
Direct Thrombin Inhibitors
In addition to direct Factor Xa inhibition, another anticoagulant target currently under clinical investigation is direct thrombin inhibition.
