Biologic responses to antithrombotic, anticoagulant, or fibrinolytic agents may differ in elderly patients.

Immunologic responses to therapeutic biologic agents.

Recombinant protein technology and the subsequent development of biologic agents for pharmacotherapy have greatly improved the treatment of a wide variety of diseases in humans. These products are subject to reactions not previously seen in other drug classes. Additionally, subtle alteration in the manufacture or administration of a biologic agent may cause reactions in subjects who previously ...

Combining antithrombotic and fibrinolytic agents: can it be done?

M ore than half of ischemic stroke patients who are treated with IV recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (rtPA) remain disabled at 3 months. The reasons are many. The IV rtPA rate of recanalizing occluded arteries is not as high as we would like, especially for large arterial occlusions, which are opened only 30% to 40% of the time. 3–6 When rtPA does effectively lyse a thrombus, it is...

The Anticoagulant and Fibrinolytic Systems

Antiplatelet/Anticoagulant Agents and Chronic Subdural Hematoma in the Elderly

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In the last decade there has been an increasing use of antiplatelet/anticoagulant agents in the elderly. The aim of the study was to evaluate the association between exposure to anticoagulant/antiplatelet therapy and chronic subdural haematoma-CSDH. METHODS Single institution case-control study involving 138786 patients older than 60 years who visited our academic terti...

Use of anticoagulant or antiplatelet agents is not related to epistaxis in patients undergoing transnasal endoscopy

Background and study aims  Unsedated transnasal endoscopy (uTNE) has become accepted as a safe and tolerable method for upper gastrointestinal tact examinations. Epistaxis is 1 of the major complications of TNE, though its risk factors have not been elucidated. Generally, patients administered an anticoagulant or antiplatelet drug are considered to have an increased risk of epistaxis during TNE...