Background: Patients with unstable angina are usually treated with unfractionated heparin and aspirin, but very little is known about the prevalence of heparin-induced antibodies and their relation to thrombotic complications some time after the acute phase of unstable angina. The aim of the present study was to establish the prevalence of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and the prevalence of heparin-dependent platelet-reactive antibodies in patients treated with unfractionated heparin and the occurrence of thrombosis in a 1 year follow-up.
Methods: Patient population included 124 consecutive patients with unstable angina treated with unfractionated heparin for almost 5 days. The prevalence of heparin-dependent platelet-reactive antibodies using an ELISA assay was measured before the beginning of heparin therapy and after 7 and 40 days. The platelet count was measured at the same time and the presence of thrombotic occurrences was checked. Clinical follow-up lasted 1 year.
Results: At baseline no one patient was positive for heparin-induced antibodies. On day 6, 38 patients (30%) produced a positive heparin-induced antibody result and 30 patients (24%) had an intermediate result. The majority of patients (74%) who developed antibodies became positive after 6 days of heparin therapy. The combined incidence of death, myocardial infarction, recurrent angina, urgent revascularization and stroke was 66% in patients with antibodies and 44% in patients without antibodies during a 1 year follow-up. The incidence of combined primary end points was statistically higher in patients positive for antibodies. The log-rank test was statistically significant (chi2 = 4.39, p < 0.01).
Conclusions: No one patient developed a clinical evidence of thrombocytopenia. Nevertheless thrombotic events during follow-up were more common in patients who developed heparin-induced antibodies. These patients need a more accurate evaluation and surveillance after hospital discharge.
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J Cardiovasc Dev Dis
January 2025
Emergency Department, Leszek Giec Upper-Silesian Medical Centre of the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, 40-635 Katowice, Poland.
Paradoxical embolism occurs when a clot originates in the venous system and traverses through a pulmonary or intracardiac shunt into the systemic circulation, with a mortality rate of around 18%. The risk factors for arterial embolism and venous thrombosis are similar, but different disease entities can lead to a hypercoagulable state of the blood, including antithrombin III (AT III) deficiency. We report the case of a 43-year-old man with a massive central pulmonary embolism with a rider embolus and concomitant aortic arch embolism with involvement of the brachiocephalic trunk, bilateral subclavian and axillary arteries, and the right vertebral artery, followed by a secondary ischaemic stroke.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Pharmacol
January 2025
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Jiaotong University, The General Hospital of Western Theater Command, Chengdu, China.
Background: Anticoagulants are the primary means for the treatment and prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE), but their clinical standardized application still remains controversial. The present study intends to comprehensively compare the efficacy and safety of various anticoagulants in VTE.
Methods: Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Library from their inception up to August 2023 were searched to compare the efficacy and safety of various anticoagulants in VTE.
Cureus
December 2024
Internal Medicine Department, Hospital Beatriz Ângelo, ULS Loures Odivelas, Loures, PRT.
Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) is central to fibrinolysis regulation, and genetic variants such as the 4G/4G genotype predispose individuals to hypercoagulability. This case highlights a 46-year-old female patient presenting with acute mesenteric venous thrombosis, where genetic evaluation revealed homozygosity for the PAI-1 4G/4G polymorphism. Management with unfractionated heparin followed by a transition to direct oral anticoagulants led to clinical resolution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBr J Hosp Med (Lond)
December 2024
Department of Critical Care Medicine, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China.
The role of heparin in sepsis therapy has been widely debated. The controversy surrounding heparin's use as an anticoagulant in sepsis may stem from differences in sepsis definitions, study designs, timing and dosage of drug administration, treatment duration, complications, and patient severity. In this study, we aimed to determine the optimal timing and dosage of heparin in patients with sepsis, identify specific subgroups that could benefit from heparin therapy, and explore laboratory markers to assess its efficacy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Oral Maxillofac Surg
December 2024
Research Associate, Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Background: Thrombus formation following flap reconstruction reduces perfusion and can lead to flap compromise. Effective anticoagulation protocols are essential to prevent this complication.
Purpose: The study's purpose was to measure and compare flap compromise associated with 3 different anticoagulation protocols.
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