Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 9, 2026

Rapid Point-of-Care Assay of Enoxaparin Anticoagulant Efficacy in Whole Blood
Published on: October 12, 2012
Anticoagulation with rivaroxaban: covering a broad spectrum of thromboembolic disease
1Medizinische Klinik, Krankenhaus Dresden Friedrichstadt, Dresden, Germany. schellong-se@khdf.de
Traditional anticoagulants such as heparin and vitamin K antagonists have been the mainstay of antithrombotic therapy for many years. However, these drugs have a number of well-recognized drawbacks: unfractionated heparin, low molecular weight heparins and fondaparinux are administered parenterally, and vitamin K antagonists require routine coagulation monitoring. Novel, single-target oral anticoagulants have been developed that do not need routine coagulation monitoring, including the direct factor Xa inhibitors rivaroxaban, apixaban and edoxaban, and the direct thrombin inhibitor dabigatran. Rivaroxaban is the most advanced in its clinical development. Across all ten Phase III/IV trials, rivaroxaban met the primary efficacy end points and generally had similar incidences of bleeding, with a comparable safety profile to standard-of-care.
Traditional anticoagulants such as heparin and vitamin K antagonists have been the mainstay of antithrombotic therapy for many years. However, these drugs have a number of well-recognized drawbacks: unfractionated heparin, low molecular weight heparins and fondaparinux are administered parenterally, and vitamin K antagonists require routine coagulation monitoring. Novel, single-target oral anticoagulants have been developed that do not need routine coagulation monitoring, including the direct factor Xa inhibitors rivaroxaban, apixaban and edoxaban, and the direct thrombin inhibitor dabigatran. Rivaroxaban is the most advanced in its clinical development. Across all ten Phase III/IV trials, rivaroxaban met the primary efficacy end points and generally had similar incidences of bleeding, with a comparable safety profile to standard-of-care.
Related Concept Videos
Anticoagulant Drugs: Vitamin K Antagonists and Direct Oral Anticoagulants
Warfarin, a prominent vitamin K antagonist family member, exerts its effect by inhibiting the enzyme VKORC1 (vitamin K epoxide reductase complex 1). By hindering this enzyme, warfarin...
Venous Thrombosis III: Interprofessional Care
Anticoagulant Drugs: Low-Molecular-Weight Heparins
Antiplatelet Drugs: Prostaglandin Synthesis, P2Y12 and Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa Inhibitors
Prostaglandin synthesis inhibitors, exemplified by the widely known aspirin, wield their power by irreversibly acetylating...
Venous Thrombosis I: Introduction
Venous Thrombosis II: Clinical Manifestations and Diagnostic Studies
