Direct oral anticoagulant: Review article

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) and atrial fibrillation (AF) is a major burden on the health care system. The average occurrence of venous thromboembolism annually is around 108 per 100,000 person-year. DOACs have transformed treatment of coagulation disorder, and now, it is the leading treatment for stroke prevention in AF and VTE prophylaxis and treatment. For more many years, oral vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) were the drug of choice in managing VTE. VKAs treatment is safe and effective if therapeutic international normalized ratio (INR) maintained on the target. However, achieving a stable, therapeutic international normalized ratio (INR) can be difficult and challenging in the context of drug and food interactions and liver disorder, resulting in undertreatment which increases the risk of thromboembolism or overtreatment which might cause bleeding. Herein, we provide an overview of DOACs indications, use in specific comorbidities, monitoring parameters, perioperative management, and reversal agents.