[Monitoring of anticoagulants of secondary haemostasis]

Vitamin K-antagonists and heparin belong to the established indirect acting anticoagulants. For many years these drugs were the only possibility for prophylaxis and treatment of venous and arterial thrombosis. The challenges for the routine laboratory related to the treatment with vitamin K-antagonists and heparin can be regarded as solved. However, in recent years a rapid development of new anticoagulants began. Although they are developed with guidelines for use without monitoring, the control of effective levels may be necessary in selected cases. As a consequence new challenges for the routine laboratory have to be solved. This paper presents an overview concerning monitoring methods.