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Updated: Jun 20, 2025

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Published on: June 2, 2015
Differences in coagulation responses to vascular injury between uninterrupted dabigatran and apixaban: A clinical
Yasuhiro Ikami1, Daisuke Izumi1, Shinya Fujiki1
1Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata, Japan.
Background:
The coagulation response during vascular injury with uninterrupted administration of direct oral anticoagulants has not been elucidated.
Objective:
Our aim was to evaluate differences in coagulation responses after vascular injury between uninterrupted direct thrombin inhibitor and direct factor Xa inhibitor recipients.
Methods:
Patients scheduled for catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation were randomly assigned to receive dabigatran or apixaban in this prospective, randomized, comparative, parallel-group study. Venous blood was collected 3 times: 180 minutes after taking the anticoagulant on the day before the procedure, before vascular punctures of the ablation procedure, and 10-15 minutes after the start of vascular punctures.
Results:
Forty-two patients were enrolled. The prothrombin fragment 1+2 level, the primary end point, was much larger after vascular puncture in the uninterrupted dabigatran recipients (median, 83 pmol/L; interquartile range, 56-133 pmol/L) than in the uninterrupted apixaban recipients (median, 1 pmol/L; interquartile range, -3 to 19 pmol/L; P < .001). Antithrombin levels decreased after vascular puncture in dabigatran recipients, and both protein C and antithrombin levels decreased after vascular puncture in apixaban recipients.
Conclusion:
Unlike uninterrupted apixaban, uninterrupted dabigatran does not inhibit thrombin generation in response to vascular injury.
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