Healthy living
Medicines and supplements
Clot drug offers hope to thousands
A new drug that stops life-threatening blood clots forming after surgery will be available in hospitals within weeks
Deep vein thrombosis, when a blood clot forms in the veins in the legs, leads to more hospital deaths than any other cause and kills an estimated 25,000 people in England every year.
The daily pill, Pradaxa, is the first new blood-thinning drug treatment to be developed in over 50 years and will initially be used to treat post-operative patients after hip and knee replacements. However health professionals are hoping that Pradaxa, which requires less monitoring than other drugs, will also be used to treat thousands of patients at risk from heart conditions and stroke.
‘After major surgery patients are more at risk of developing a blood clot within a vein,’ said Beverley Hunt, medical director of the UK thrombosis charity Lifeblood.
‘The number of deaths from this complication is nothing short of a public health emergency so the development of new drugs to treat this problem is terribly exciting.’
The major concern is that someone with a blood clot may develop a pulmonary embolism - when part of the clot breaks off and travels through the body to the heart and lungs, blocking an artery. This is a very serious condition and can be fatal. Patients are more at risk if they are over 40, overweight and have a family history of thrombosis.
Patients undergoing hip and knee replacement surgery are at particular risk: studies have shown that without anti-clotting drugs, up to 60 per cent of orthopaedic surgery patients will develop DVT.
‘The advantage of Pradaxa is that it can be taken orally. Current drugs such as Warfarin need to be injected and require a higher level of monitoring.’ says Hunt, ‘Patients can easily take Pradaxa at home after they leave hospital – when they are still at risk from clots.’
‘The prevention of blood clots in hospitals in the UK is poorly managed,’ adds Hunt. ‘Every patient needs to be risk assessed when they are admitted to hospital.’
The charity Lifeblood advises that anyone entering hospital should ask their medical team the following questions before admission:
- What is my risk of DVT?
- Will I be given anti-embolic stockings?
- Should I receive blood thinners after surgery?
- Are there ultrasound facilities on site to diagnose DVT if I should develop one?
- If I develop a DVT how will I be treated?
Useful articles
Useful website
Reader comments
I have Motor Neurone Disease and have been taking Walfarin for 10 years as my mobility is vertually nil.I would like to try this new drug PRADAXA and would my blood levels still be monitored by the hospital.I am a little concearned though with the new drug that no checks would be necessary.Has NICE approved this drug yet!!
Posted by: Mr Mel Fisher | 22/07/2008 16:57:17
Is Pradaxa a tablet form of heparim which I have been taking pre-flight for many years
Posted by: John Grant | 15/05/2008 09:05:53
Agree with Alan Bristow. I take daily Warfarin tablets and am scheduled to continue for the rest of my life. Will Pradaxa replace Warfarin and reduce the monitoring required by Warfarin?
Posted by: Thomas Lowrie | 09/05/2008 12:16:34
In what medical publications has this drug been recently reviewed and were they British journals? Thank you.
Posted by: Margaret Anne Sweatmore | 08/05/2008 16:46:41
You say that Warfarin needs to be injected but this is incorrect. I have taken it orally for years.
Posted by: Alan Bristow | 24/04/2008 17:17:43
Information on this site is for interest only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. You should consult your own doctor about any specific health concerns.
