Rational Use of Recombinant Factor VIIa in Clinical Practice

In the United States, the FDA-approved indications for recombinant factor VIIa is for bypassing inhibitors to factors VIII and IX in patients with hemophilia A and B respectively and for treatment of congenital factor VII deficiency. In European countries, rFVIIa is licensed for the above indications as well as for Glanzmann's thrombasthenia. In absence of high-quality data favoring off-label use of this agent and laboratory test to predict response to this agent, and in view of high cost of rFVIIa, off-label use of recombinant factor VIIa should be restricted to only when hemorrhage has not responded to transfusion or other conventional therapy. It appears, two such conditions where recombinant factor VIIa may be beneficial are traumatic and postpartum hemorrhages.