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Anticoagulation Drugs: Indications, Therapeutic Monitoring, and Antidotes

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Nonmalignant Hematology

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Abstract

Anticoagulants are one of the most commonly prescribed drugs. Parenteral anticoagulants such as unfractionated heparin (UFH), low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH), and fondaparinux are principally used as bridging agents until therapeutic anticoagulation with an oral anticoagulant is instituted. Since the 1950s the default oral anticoagulant has been warfarin. The development and recent regulatory approval of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) is transforming the approach to anticoagulation for a majority of patients. This chapter explores the common indications for anticoagulation therapy, selection of anticoagulants, and the complexities of monitoring and treatment of hemorrhage in patients receiving anticoagulants.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Hematology-Oncology, Beth Israel Deaconess Center, Harvard Medical School, 330 Brookline Ave, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    Anish V. Sharda MBBS, MPH

  2. Division of Hemostasis and Thrombosis, Beth Israel Deaconess Center, Harvard Medical School, 330 Brookline Ave, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    Jeffrey I. Zwicker MD

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  1. Anish V. Sharda MBBS, MPH
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  2. Jeffrey I. Zwicker MD
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Correspondence to Jeffrey I. Zwicker MD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Department of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantion, Zion, Illinois, USA

    Syed A. Abutalib

  2. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Jean M. Connors

  3. Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Margaret V. Ragni

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Sharda, A.V., Zwicker, J.I. (2016). Anticoagulation Drugs: Indications, Therapeutic Monitoring, and Antidotes. In: Abutalib, S., Connors, J., Ragni, M. (eds) Nonmalignant Hematology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30352-9_44

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