Improving prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism: Clinical trial results

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) incurs considerable socioeconomic costs, partly owing to the fact that the treatment and prevention of VTE via effective thromboprophylaxis remains suboptimal in the inpatient and outpatient settings of many healthcare systems. A number of organizationsincluding the National Quality Forum, The Joint Commission, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Serviceshave established measures to assess and reduce the healthcare burden of VTE. These improvement strategies focus on increasing the use of thromboprophylaxis, implementing existing guidelines, and improving awareness. Findings: Based on clinical trial results, the oral anti-coagulants rivaroxaban, apixaban, and dabigatran etexilate have been approved in many countries for the prevention of VTE in patients after elective hip or knee replacement surgery. Recently, dabigatran etexilate and rivaroxaban have also been approved in the US for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation. In addition, rivaroxaban is currently the only newer anti-coagulant that has been approved in Europe for the treatment of deep vein thrombosis and for the long-term prevention of recurrent VTE. These oral anti-coagulants have several advantages over established anti-coagulants, including no need for routine coagulation monitoring and only minimal food and drug interactions. These characteristics, together with convenient oral administration, may improve adherence and quality of life for patients, which could result in reductions in the rate of VTE. Conclusions: These three oral agents have several advantages over established anti-coagulants and could, therefore, address the unmet needs of patients, physicians, and healthcare systems, with the potential to reduce the burden of anti-coagulant management and the occurrence of VTE.