Haemorrhaging complications of anticoagulation therapy in geriatric patients.

Summary

Anticoagulants became an indispensable drug class in treatment and prevention of thromboembolic events, of both arterial and venous origin in geriatric patients. The paper reviews potential risks of anticoagulants treatment in seniors, particularly haemorrhaging complications. Special concern is given to novel anticoagulants (NOAC) in comparison to warfarin.

We present a case study and a pilot patients´ sample who suffered clinically significant bleeding complications while on anticoagulation therapy. Our data support the fact that patients of advanced age are at higher risk of bleeding. Therefore the decision to start the treatment with anticoagulants including the novel NOAC must be strictly individualized, based of risk/benefit assessment.

KEYWORDS:
anticoagulants – NOAC- warfarin – bleeding complications – risk-scoring tools – benefit/risk assessment