Barletta JF, Erstad BL. Dosing Medications for Coagulopathy Reversal in Patients with Extreme Obesity.
J Emerg Med 2022;
63:541-550. [PMID:
35906122 DOI:
10.1016/j.jemermed.2022.04.036]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Revised: 03/22/2022] [Accepted: 04/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
The reversal of anticoagulant or antiplatelet medications is a priority in the management of patients with severe injury with the goal of minimizing further bleeding without thrombotic complications. There are few studies, however, evaluating the dosing of reversal agents in the setting of trauma specific to patients with extreme obesity. Nevertheless, clinicians must still make decisions, balancing concerns of ongoing bleeding with excessive thrombosis.
OBJECTIVES
We describe the literature pertaining to dosing of medications used for the reversal of both drug-induced and trauma-related coagulopathy with the intent of providing a framework for clinicians to make dosing decisions in this challenging population.
DISCUSSION
Obesity is known to impact both the volume of distribution and the clearance of medications, but these changes are not usually linear with size nor are they uniform across drugs. Current strategies for dosing reversal agents in obesity include a capped dose (e.g., prothrombin complex concentrates), fixed dosages (e.g., andexanet alfa, idarucizumab, and tranexamic acid), and weight-based dosing (e.g., desmopressin). Extreme obesity, however, was not highly prevalent in the studies that have validated these dosing strategies. In fact, many of the clinical studies fail to report the average weight of the patients included.
CONCLUSION
Future studies should make efforts to increase reporting of patients with obesity included in clinical trials along with results stratified by weight class. In the meantime, doses listed in product labels should be used. Desmopressin should be dosed using either ideal body weight or a dose-capping strategy.
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