Open AccessDirect oral anticoagulants for unusual‐site venous thromboembolism
Author(s) -
Riva Nicoletta,
Ageno Walter
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
research and practice in thrombosis and haemostasis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2475-0379
DOI - 10.1002/rth2.12480
Subject(s) - medicine , warfarin , venous thrombosis , pulmonary embolism , thrombosis , intensive care medicine , edoxaban , randomized controlled trial , intracranial bleeding , anticoagulant , rivaroxaban , surgery , atrial fibrillation
Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are currently the preferred oral anticoagulant treatment for most of the patients with deep vein thrombosis of the lower extremities and/or pulmonary embolism. DOACs have several advantages over vitamin K antagonists, such as availability of fixed dosages, fewer drug interactions, faster onset of action, shorter half‐life, and lower risk of major and intracranial bleeding. Although the evidence on the use of DOACs in patients with unusual‐site venous thromboembolism (VTE) is limited to a few, small randomized controlled trials, these drugs are increasingly used in clinical practice, and several observational cohort studies have been published recently. This narrative review will describe the latest evidence for the use of the DOACs in patients with thrombosis in atypical locations (splanchnic, cerebral, upper extremity, ovarian, and renal vein thrombosis) and will provide some practical advice for their use in patients with unusual‐site VTE.