title: Guidance for the practical management of the direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in VTE treatment.
abstract: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a serious medical condition associated with significant morbidity and mortality, and an incidence that is expected to double in the next forty years. The advent of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) has catalyzed significant changes in the therapeutic landscape of VTE treatment. As such, it is imperative that clinicians become familiar with and appropriately implement new treatment paradigms. This manuscript, initiated by the Anticoagulation Forum, provides clinical guidance for VTE treatment with the DOACs. When possible, guidance statements are supported by existing published evidence and guidelines. In instances where evidence or guidelines are lacking, guidance statements represent the consensus opinion of all authors of this manuscript and are endorsed by the Board of Directors of the Anticoagulation Forum.The authors of this manuscript first developed a list of pivotal practical questions related to real-world clinical scenarios involving the use of DOACs for VTE treatment. We then performed a PubMed search for topics and key words including, but not limited to, apixaban, antidote, bridging, cancer, care transitions, dabigatran, direct oral anticoagulant, deep vein thrombosis, edoxaban, interactions, measurement, perioperative, pregnancy, pulmonary embolism, reversal, rivaroxaban, switching, \thrombophilia, venous thromboembolism, and warfarin to answer these questions. Non- English publications and publications > 10 years old were excluded. In an effort to provide practical information about the use of DOACs for VTE treatment, answers to each question are provided in the form of guidance statements, with the intent of high utility and applicability for frontline clinicians across a multitude of care settings.
authors.affiliation: University of New Mexico Hospital Inpatient Antithrombosis Service, University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy, 2211 Lomas Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87106, USA. aburnett@salud.unm.edu.
authors.forename: Allison E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Burnett
authors.affiliation: Presbyterian Healthcare Services, University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
authors.forename: Charles E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Mahan
authors.affiliation: University of Utah Health Care Thrombosis Center, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
authors.forename: Sara R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Vazquez
authors.affiliation: Anticoagulation Management Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Lynn B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Oertel
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.affiliation: Hofstra North Shore/LIJ School of Medicine, Hempstead, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Jack
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ansell
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011247:Pregnancy; D054556:Venous Thromboembolism / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants
keywords: Antidotes; Bridging anticoagulation; Care transitions; DOACs; Direct thrombin inhibitors; Drug interactions; Factor Xa inhibitors; NOACs