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Study shows success with new anti-clotting drug
Oct 31 (HeartCenterOnline) - Researchers report on a new drug that is as effective as heparin in helping to prevent the formation of blood clots. The study is published in the October 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Blood clotting is a natural process that allows the blood to thicken and form a clot of blood cells and fibrin strands to stop the bleeding when a blood vessel is injured. However, sometimes blood clots form even when a person has not been wounded in any way. Although most blood clots tend to dissolve on their own with no long- term problems, there are two situations in which blood clots can cause trouble before they are reabsorbed by the body. First, under certain conditions a blood clot can form in an artery, which could block the flow of blood and trigger a heart attack or stroke. Second, a piece of the blood clot could form in one of the heart's chambers and then travel through the bloodstream, lodging in either an organ or an artery and cutting off the blood supply from that point (causing an embolism).
In the current trial, Dr. H.R. Buller and colleagues of the Matisse Study note the standard treatment for patients with pulmonary embolism is intravenous heparin, an anti-clotting drug that requires "laboratory monitoring and hospitalization." A pulmonary embolism (usually a blood clot from the pelvic veins or deep veins of the leg) becomes lodged in the pulmonary artery in the chest. This blockage causes a true medical emergency because it obstructs the blood supply to the lungs. It is a commonly occurring embolism that affects approximately 600,000 Americans every year, and 10 percent of those embolisms result in death.
The Matisse researchers sought to compare warfarin to a new drug, fondaparinux, for safety and effectiveness in patients with acute pulmonary embolism. In their group of 2,213 patients, 1,103 were randomly selected to receive fondaparinux; 1,110 patients received heparin. The fondaparinux was administered as an injection, once daily for at least five days. Heparin was given as a continuous intravenous infusion.
Results showed that fondaparinux was "at least as effective and is as safe" as intravenous heparin. Moreover, a number of patients in the fondaparinux group were able to receive the drug on an outpatient basis.
To learn more about this topic, visit HeartCenterOnline's:
The Blood Clot Center
Copyright 2000-2003 HeartCenterOnline, Inc.
Publish Date: October 31, 2003
Oct 31 (HeartCenterOnline) - Researchers report on a new drug that is as effective as heparin in helping to prevent the formation of blood clots. The study is published in the October 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Blood clotting is a natural process that allows the blood to thicken and form a clot of blood cells and fibrin strands to stop the bleeding when a blood vessel is injured. However, sometimes blood clots form even when a person has not been wounded in any way. Although most blood clots tend to dissolve on their own with no long- term problems, there are two situations in which blood clots can cause trouble before they are reabsorbed by the body. First, under certain conditions a blood clot can form in an artery, which could block the flow of blood and trigger a heart attack or stroke. Second, a piece of the blood clot could form in one of the heart's chambers and then travel through the bloodstream, lodging in either an organ or an artery and cutting off the blood supply from that point (causing an embolism).
In the current trial, Dr. H.R. Buller and colleagues of the Matisse Study note the standard treatment for patients with pulmonary embolism is intravenous heparin, an anti-clotting drug that requires "laboratory monitoring and hospitalization." A pulmonary embolism (usually a blood clot from the pelvic veins or deep veins of the leg) becomes lodged in the pulmonary artery in the chest. This blockage causes a true medical emergency because it obstructs the blood supply to the lungs. It is a commonly occurring embolism that affects approximately 600,000 Americans every year, and 10 percent of those embolisms result in death.
The Matisse researchers sought to compare warfarin to a new drug, fondaparinux, for safety and effectiveness in patients with acute pulmonary embolism. In their group of 2,213 patients, 1,103 were randomly selected to receive fondaparinux; 1,110 patients received heparin. The fondaparinux was administered as an injection, once daily for at least five days. Heparin was given as a continuous intravenous infusion.
Results showed that fondaparinux was "at least as effective and is as safe" as intravenous heparin. Moreover, a number of patients in the fondaparinux group were able to receive the drug on an outpatient basis.
To learn more about this topic, visit HeartCenterOnline's:
The Blood Clot Center
Copyright 2000-2003 HeartCenterOnline, Inc.
Publish Date: October 31, 2003
