Spontaneous cardiac tamponade associated with dabigatran use in an elderly woman

We report here a rare case of dabigatran-related spontaneous cardiac tamponade, which appeared in absence of the known risk factors that predispose the patient to bleed related to anticoagulant drugs. A 65-year-old lady presented to the emergency room with sudden onset dyspnea which woke her up in the early morning hours. Four days earlier, she had been started on dabigatran therapy for DVT. On examination, she was in shock. Transthoracic echocardiography confirmed cardiac tamponade. Emergent pericardiocentesis was done, draining 480 ml of haemorrhagic fluid, which tested negative for microbes and malignant cells. The patient recovered rapidly and fluid did not re-accumulate after withdrawal of dabigatran therapy. Spontaneous cardiac tamponade is rare with the use of direct anticoagulants, especially dabigatran, in the absence of predisposing risk factors. This case study highlights the need for clinicians to be cognizant of this potentially life-threatening adverse drug reaction of dabigatran so that appropriate timely action can be taken toward diagnosis and management of this complication.

Mechanisms of action of new oral coagulants

The article provides a brief description of drugs in the class of direct oral anticoagulants. The mechanisms of the therapeutic effect and the ways of excretion of drugs-inhibitors of blood coagulation factors Xa and IIa are considered. It was shown that all of them are characterized by high selectivity to the active centers of target molecules, successfully affect the coagulation cascade and have a quick therapeutic effect. A comparative analysis of drugs of the class of direct oral anticoagulants showed that rivaroxaban, apixaban, edoxaban, betrixaban (inhibitors of FXa) and dabigatran (inhibitor of factor IIa) do not have significant advantages over each other in terms of mechanism and speed of action. A comparison of the main characteristics of direct oral anticoagulants and the indirect anticoagulant warfarin is presented. It is shown that, first of all, the advantage of the former is associated with an immediate pharmacological response. The decision to prescribe this drug requires consideration of risk factors for the patient, such as age, the presence of chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver and kidneys. The article presents the most frequent complications of anticoagulant therapy, as well as the mechanisms of action of specific and universal antidotes indicated for use in patients with life-threatening bleeding or in need of urgent surgery when using direct oral anticoagulants. However, such neutralizing agents have not yet found widespread use due to their high cost and low availability. Nevertheless, the emergence of direct anticoagulants on the market has undoubtedly led to significant progress in the treatment of thrombotic and cardiovascular diseases (1 table, bibliography: 28 refs).

A krónikus antikoaguláns-kezelés gyakorlati kérdései Covid-19-pandémia idején

Coronavirus infection has a multiple im­pact on the coagulation system and anti­coagulant therapies. Patients admitted with COVID-19 have un­usually high incidence of coagulation ab­normalities. The incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF) seems also to be more frequent among COVID-19 out- and especially in-patients. Among COVID-19 patients receiving oral anticoagulant therapy, for minimizing the risk of bleeding or thromboembolic complications there should also be considered the renal and hepatic functions and drug-drug interactions of oral anticoagulant and COVID-19 therapy. In case of direct anticoagulants, in addition to the benefits of better safety, more favorable treatment ad­he­rence, and fixed dosing, the use of this class of drugs does not require laboratory mo­nitoring of efficacy, which may be of exp­licit benefit in terms of social distancing and health network burdens. This study reviews the possible interactions of drugs used for viral infection and anticoagulation, and in addition to the issues of coagulopathy associated with COVID-19, we discuss also the concerning difficulties of continued anticoagulant therapy related to the social distancing measures.

Pathogenesis, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of disseminated intravascular coagulation syndrome in COVID-19 infection

Aim. Clinical characteristics of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) in COVID-19 infection and assessment of the effectiveness of complex therapy for this syndrome at the stages of prevention and treatment of various complications. Materials and methods. The study of publications was carried out through search engines on the Internet using keywords. To diagnose the infection, the COVID-19 program was used on the MeDiCase platform, which is publicly available on www.medicase.pro, which suggests a diagnosis with a sensitivity of 89.47%. The study included 85 patients with acute COVID-19 with mild to moderate disease, aged 11 to 81 years. The presence of the pathogen was confirmed immunologically in 12% of patients; in other cases, the diagnosis was based on the results of an automated survey in the MeDiCase system. All patients, according to the MGNOT recommendations, were prescribed one of the oral direct anticoagulants - Eliquis at a dose of 5 mg 2 times a day, Ksarelto at a dose of 10 mg 2 times a day or Pradax at a dose of 110 mg 2 times a day for at least 2 weeks. All other drugs with antiviral, immunomodulatory effects, antibiotics were canceled. Results. The presence of DIC is substantiated by the morphological picture of changes in organs and tissues, clinical (hematoma-petechial type of bleeding in combination with thromboembolic syndrome and the presence of thrombovasculitis) and laboratory changes: an increase in the level of soluble fibrin-monomer complexes, D-dimer, hyperfibrinogenaemia, less often - thrombocytopenia, violation of fibrinolytic activity. The phenomenon of consumption of clotting factors and profuse bleeding are rare. Direct anticoagulants, fresh frozen plasma transfusions and plasmapheresis are used in the treatment of disseminated intravascular coagulation. The paper presents its own positive results of early prescription at the outpatient stage of direct oral anticoagulants in prophylactic doses (no case of disease progression), individual cases of the use of fresh frozen plasma and plasapheresis. Conclusion. DIC syndrome with the development of thrombovasculitis is the most important pathogenetic mechanism for the development of microthrombotic and hemorrhagic disorders in organs during infection with COVID-19, leading to dysfunction of the lungs, brain and other nerve tissues, kidneys, thromboembolic complications, etc. Many symptoms of the disease may be associated with a violation of the nervous regulation of the functions of organs and systems. Prevention of thrombovasculitis is effective already at the stage of the first manifestation of the disease with the outpatient use of direct anticoagulants (oral, low molecular weight heparins). In case of more severe manifestations (complications) of the disease, additional use of freshly frozen plasma and plasmapheresis is effective.