November 10, 2015

Nearly 65,000 patients visit U.S. emergency departments annually for anticoagulant related hemorrages.1 Despite this staggering amount, the aforementioned figure does not reflect adverse bleeding events associated with Direct Thrombin Inhibitors (DTIs) and Factor Xa Inhibitors.

As EM Docs, it goes without saying that we need to know what to do to address these potentially life-threatening bleeds, so, let’s take a look at the commonly prescribed oral anticoagulants, their mechanisms of action, their pharmacokinetics, and recommendations for their reversal.