title: Resolution of left atrial appendage thrombus with apixaban.
abstract: Left atrial appendage (LAA) thrombosis is an important cause of cardiogenic cerebral thromboembolism. Apixaban is a member of the class of novel oral anticoagulants (NOAC) and is superior to warfarin in preventing stroke or systemic embolism, causes less bleeding, and results in lower mortality in patients with atrial fibrillation. There are few reports of resolution of LAA thrombus with other NOAC. We present a 72-year-old male patient with persistent atrial fibrillation associated with left atrial thrombus. Sixteen days of apixaban treatment showed complete thrombus resolution. In this study, soluble fibrin and D-dimer levels decreased without prolongation of international normalized ratio (INR) and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT).
authors.affiliation: From the Division of Cardiology, Ichinomiyanishi Hospital, 1 Kaimei-hira, Ichinomiya, Aichi, Japan. tkawakami-ind@umin.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Tohru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawakami
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kobayakawa
authors.forename: Hiroyoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ohno
authors.forename: Nobukiyo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ishihara