Key result
Apixaban use in an 81-year-old male with heart failure and an apical thrombus resulted in a 2.6 cm thick extra-axial subacute subdural hematoma with a 1 mm midline shift.
Why the study?
Although apixaban is safer than warfarin and causes less hemorrhage than other NOACs, it still poses a risk of spontaneous bleeding.
Case Report (n=1)
This case highlights that apixaban can cause spontaneous subdural hemorrhage in elderly patients, despite its generally favorable safety profile.
Requires vigilance for subdural hematoma in elderly patients on apixaban; single case leaves open broader risk quantification.
New oral anticoagulants (NOACs) have become more popular in the last few decades. Although apixaban has been proven to be safer than warfarin and causes less hemorrhage in comparison to other NOACs, it still poses a risk of spontaneous bleeding. We present here an 81-year-old male known case of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) associated with an apical thrombus of 0.93× 1.29 cm who presents with cognitive decline, slurred speech, and right side weakness following apixaban use for his apical thrombus. On further evaluation of non-contrast brain computerized tomography ( CT ), there was a large extra-axial subacute subdural hematoma with thick septations in the left parietal region, measuring 2.6 cm in thickness, causing an a mass effect, and an a midline shift of 1 mm. Following neurosurgery, cardiology, and anesthesiology discussions, the surgery was deferred due to his age and coexisting conditions with regular follow-ups. The patient has now gained full consciousness and is currently undergoing physiotherapy. This case highlights an elderly patient with apixaban-induced subdural hemorrhage, which is a rare entity in the medical literature. Although apixaban is safer than other NOACs, it may cause subdural hemorrhage.
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Ahmed et al. (2023) conducted a case report in Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and apical thrombus (n=1). Apixaban was evaluated on Subdural hematoma. Apixaban use in an 81-year-old male with heart failure and an apical thrombus resulted in a 2.6 cm thick extra-axial subacute subdural hematoma with a 1 mm midline shift.
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