Pradaxa and surgery
June 19, 2012
ATRIAL fibrillation patients who
received treatment with Pradaxa
(dabigatran etexilate) can undergo
surgery more quickly following
treatment cessation and without
increasing the risk of bleeding
compared to warfarin, according to
a new study published in Circulation.
The Peri-Procedural Bleeding and
Thromboembolic Events with
Dabigatran Compared to Warfarin:
Results from the RE-LY Randomized
Trial study compared the periprocedural
bleeding risk of patients
in the RE-LY trial treated with
dabigatran and warfarin.
Bleeding rates were evaluated
from 7 days prior until 30 days
following invasive procedures.
The study looked at 4,591
patients who underwent at least
one invasive procedure: 24.7% of
patients receiving dabigatran-110;
25.4% on dabigatran-150 and
25.9% on warfarin, p=0.34.
According to the results, Pradaxa
patients were able to undergo
surgery within 48 hours of stopping
therapy, compared to patients
taking warfarin (46% for dabigatran
150mg bid/110mg bid vs. 11% for
warfarin, p < 0.001).
In addition, the study found that
discontinuing Pradaxa within 48
hours of surgery was associated
with a lower risk of peri-operative
bleeding compared to similar
discontinuation times with warfarin.
Overall the study also found that
there were similar rates of bleeding
and thrombotic events for patients
on Pradaxa and warfarin who
underwent surgery.
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