This review highlights established methods for warfarin reversal while emphasizing the critical lack of evidence for reversing new oral anticoagulants at the time of publication.
Lack of reversal data for new oral anticoagulants advises caution in use; leaves open need for dedicated antidote trials.
Anticoagulant drugs are taken by millions of patients throughout the world. Warfarin has been the most widely prescribed anticoagulant for decades. In recent years, new oral anticoagulants have been approved for use, are being positioned as alternatives to warfarin, and represent an enormous market opportunity for pharmaceutical companies. Requests for urgent reversal of anticoagulants are not uncommon especially in the setting of critical bleeding. This review summarizes information on reversal of warfarin by vitamin K, plasma, prothrombin complex concentrates, and recombinant VIIa. In addition, we emphasize the lack of current evidence supporting reversibility of the new oral direct thrombin inhibitors and Factor Xa inhibitors. This review is presented to assist transfusion medicine specialists, hematologists, and other clinicians who prescribe blood components for reversal of drug-induced anticoagulation.
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Sunny Dzik (2012) studied this question.
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