New Oral Anticoagulants: An Update

One of the most common and useful forms of medical intervention is anticoagulant therapy and it is the mainstay of treatment and prevention of thrombosis in different clinical settings, like atrial fibrillation (AF), acute coronary syndrome (ACS), acute venous thromboembolism (VTE), and in patients undergoing invasive cardiac procedures. More than 6 million patients in the United States receive long-term anticoagulation therapy for the prevention of thromboembolism due to AF, placement of a mechanical heart-valve prosthesis, or VTE.1 For more than 60 years, until 2009, warfarin and other vitamin K antagonists were the only class of oral anticoagulants (OAC) available. Although these drugs are highly effective in prevention of TE, their use is limited by a narrow therapeutic index that necessitates frequent monitoring and dose adjustments. This results in substantial risk and inconvenience, leading to inadequate anticoagulant prophylaxis. Recently some new OAC have been marketed which are effective, easier to use and has less side effects. Dabigatran is a new oral thrombin inhibitor and Rivaroxaban, Apixaban and Edoxaban are oral factor Xa inhibitors. This review outlines why these new OACs were essential and describes in detail about these new drugs