Hemarthrosis with sodium warfarin and heparin

Management of Haemarthrosis in Patients On Oral Anticoagulants

Aims

Our aim was to investigate the management of patients who were admitted to hospital with an acute haemarthrosis whilst taking oral anticoagulants, and highlight the outcomes of different management strategies.

Methods

A retrospective review was performed of all orthopaedic admissions over a 42-month period (January 2015–July 2018) to the Orthopaedic Department of a London District General Hospital. All patients admitted with a spontaneous joint haemarthrosis and concomitant use of oral anticoagulants was identified. Anonymised data was placed on a secure trust database.

Findings

A total of 31 patients were included. 22 patients (71%) had their anticoagulant temporarily held during admission. 9 patients (32%) had their anticoagulation reversed with 10 mg of vitamin K. 5 patients had their haemarthrosis aspirated either on admission or during their hospital stay. The overall mean length of stay in patients with a haemarthrosis was 7.0 days. The mean length of stay in patients who had their anticoagulation held was 8.6 days. In contrast, patients who continued taking their anticoagulation were found to have an average length of stay of 2.3 days. No patients suffered a thrombotic event in the 60 days following discharge. No adverse events were recorded following joint aspiration.

Conclusion

There is currently no consensus on the management of haemarthrosis in patients on oral anticoagulants. Continuing the anticoagulants did not increase length of hospital stay. Further research may focus on assessing the effect of management adjuncts on patient outcomes and their cost effectiveness to aid the development of local and/or national guidelines.

Anticoagulant-induced hemarthrosis presenting as anterior shoulder dislocation

This is a case of nontraumatic shoulder pain initially diagnosed on x-ray as an anterior dislocation. The patient was on anticoagulants and, in actuality, had severe hemarthrosis that caused the subluxation. Attempts to reduce the dislocation in this situation might have resulted in worsening of the intra-articular bleed. There has been only 1 similar reported case in the European Journal of Emergency Medicine in 2013 of a 53-year-old woman who was thought to have a nontraumatic anterior shoulder dislocation, and attempts were unsuccessful at reduction. Definitive therapy involved hemarthrosis aspiration. Others have reported spontaneous hemarthrosis due to anticoagulants; however, only 1 has reported an initial mistaken joint dislocation diagnosis. Nontraumatic hemarthrosis do occur in patients on anticoagulant therapy, and it is important to recognize that this can be misdiagnosed as a joint dislocation requiring reduction. In a patient who is on anticoagulants presenting with nontraumatic joint pain and anterior shoulder or possibly other dislocations on plain radiographs, it is pertinent to consider hemarthrosis.

Potentiation of oral anticoagulation and hemarthrosis associated with nabumetone

Concomitant therapy with warfarin and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is of concern due to the potential for increased bleeding. Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs may alter patient response to warfarin by pharmacodynamic or pharmacokinetic interactions. A man receiving long-term, stable warfarin therapy experienced a significant increase in international normalized ratio 1 week after nabumetone was added to his regimen. Despite prompt reduction of the warfarin dosage, he experienced hemarthrosis of his right knee. Previous reports suggested lack of interaction between nabumetone and warfarin. Caution and close monitoring are advisable when the two agents are administered concomitantly.