Large Left Ventricular Thrombus as a Cause of Recurrent Cardioembolic Stroke While on Dabigatran

Left Ventricular Thrombosis: Current Perspective and Use of Direct Oral Anticoagulants

Left ventricular thrombus (LVT) is a serious risk factor for systemic embolism development. Despite the evident danger of this condition, current guidelines describe management of patients with this potentially fatal complication very briefly. LVT can complicate myocardial infarction where its incidence is around 10%, as well as various forms of cardiomyopathies and novel coronavirus infection. According to clinical guidelines vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) should be used as treatment of choice for thrombus resolution. However, experts point out that this therapy lacks necessary evidential base and bears certain difficulties because of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamical properties of VKAs. These drawbacks are absent in direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs), the possibility of using which in LVT is being actively studied. As for now, published results of 3 randomised clinical trials have demonstrated similar safety and efficacy profiles of DOACs and VKAs. Similarly, the majority of retrospective cohort studies did not observe significant differences between two groups, where some of them have shown superiority of DOACs especially in terms of earlier thrombus resolution. Nevertheless, some studies have found DOACs ineffective and even potentially unsafe regarding systemic embolism. Existing data does not allow to form an unambiguous conclusion about the equivalence of DOACs and VKAs for LVT resolution. Large randomised clinical trials are needed to determine efficacy and safety of such treatment in these patients.

Rivaroxaban for Treatment of Left Ventricular Thrombus: A Case Report

Patient: Male, 43-year-old

Final Diagnosis: Heart failure • HIV infection • thrombosis

Symptoms: Heart failure

Medication: —

Clinical Procedure: Echocardiography

Specialty: General and Internal Medicine

Use of Direct Oral Anticoagulants in the Treatment of Left Ventricular Thrombi: A Systematic Review

The off-label use of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) for the treatment of left ventricular thrombi has grown over the past several years given the ease of administration, absence of a requirement for international normalized ratio (INR) monitoring, and freedom from dietary restrictions; however, the evidence for their safety and efficacy is contradictory. We systematically searched PubMed and Google Scholar from January 1, 2009, to April 25, 2020, for studies of DOACs for treatment of left ventricular thrombi. Fifty-three articles (of 1,168 patients) met our inclusion criteria. We found that the studies have reached conflicting results; based on our findings, their routine use for the treatment of left ventricular thrombi cannot be recommended. Adequately powered randomized controlled trials are needed to determine the safest and most effective treatment for left ventricular thrombi.

Republished: Successful thrombolysis for acute ischaemic stroke after reversal of dabigatran etexilate with idarucizumab

In conjunction with BMJ Case Reports, DTB will feature occasional drug-related cases that are likely to be of interest to readers. These will include cases that involve recently marketed drugs for which there is limited knowledge of adverse effects and cases that highlight unusual reactions to drugs that have been marketed for several years.

Successful thrombolysis for acute ischaemic stroke after reversal of dabigatran etexilate with idarucizumab

We report the experience of reversing dabigatran prior to administering systemic thrombolysis for acute ischaemic cerebellar stroke, which was well tolerated with no haemorrhagic complications after thrombolysis. Given the increasingly common use of dabigatran for atrial fibrillation, the use of idarucizumab to reverse of dabigatran is a novel treatment that should be considered as an important adjunct to facilitate thrombolysis for ischaemic strokes and minimise haemorrhagic complications.