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Published on: February 26, 2013
Effect of direct oral anticoagulants on bleeding during and after cataract surgery
Anat Maytal1,2, Hadar Naidorf Rosenblatt3, Reut Rotem4
1Department of Ophthalmology, Meir Medical Center, Meir Hospital, 59 Tchernichovsky St, 4428164, Kfar Saba, Israel. anat.maytal1@gmail.com.
Purpose:
To assess the risk for intraoperative and postoperative ocular bleeding associated with direct oral anticoagulant treatment in patients undergoing phacoemulsification surgery.
Methods:
Consecutive patients had phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation while taking uninterrupted direct oral anticoagulants (dabigatran, rivaroxaban, or apixaban). Gender and age-matched patients without antithrombotic therapy were used as the control group. Patients were examined one week postoperatively. Intraoperative and postoperative hemorrhagic and non-hemorrhagic complications were assessed.
Results:
Forty patients (56 eyes) on direct oral anticoagulants and 120 patients (172 eyes) without anticoagulation, at a mean age of 77 years, had phacoemulsification. There was no significant difference between the groups in the rate of intraoperative and postoperative bleeding. One eye (1.8%) in the treatment group and 3 eyes (1.7%) in the control group had hyphema (p = 0.72). No patient had thromboembolic event during or after surgery.
Conclusions:
Cataract surgery was safely performed while continuing direct oral anticoagulation.
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