Background: Recent guidelines include aspirin as an option to prevent venous thromboembolism (VTE) in selected patients undergoing hip or knee replacement surgery. However, the efficacy of aspirin after arthroplasty has not been well-defined, particularly in more contemporary patient populations. Objective: To compare rates of post-operative VTE between patients who received aspirin-only versus anticoagulants after hip [...]

Background: Role of vitamin K antagonist (VKA) or Direct Oral anticoagulation (DOAC) for non-valvular atrial fibrillation has widely been discussed. But the literature on anticoagulation therapy for patients with valvular atrial fibrillation (VAF) is limited. Aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the outcomes (stroke-vascular events and intracranial bleeding) following DOAC and VKA amongst patients [...]

Background: Over 6 million people in the US have a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation. Given the increased risk for stroke and systemic embolism, many patients are treated with direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) to reduce their risk. In the major trials comparing to DOACs to warfarin for stroke and systemic embolism prevention in atrial fibrillation, DOACs [...]

Background: Hospitalized patients receiving direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) sometimes require bridging with unfractionated heparin (UFH). Monitoring UFH with anti-Xa assays has been shown to correlate with better outcomes. However, DOACs interfere with anti-Xa assays resulting in inappropriate UFH dose adjustments that can negatively impact patient care. In 2015, we deployed an electronic health record (EHR) [...]

Background: Direct acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have been approved for conditions such as non-valvular atrial fibrillation and venous thromboembolism. High quality randomized controlled trials have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of DOACs as compared to warfarin with exceptions in specific patient populations (such as those with mechanical heart valves). DOACs are more convenient and generally [...]

Case Presentation: A 68-year-old man presented with dyspnea, wheezing and productive cough. He was hypoxemic and a chest radiograph revealed a left lower lobe infiltrate and he was admitted with a Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease exacerbation and pneumonia. His troponin was mildly elevated and he was started on a heparin infusion. The intravenous line infusing [...]

Background: This umbrella meta-analysis assesses the safety of left atrial appendage (LAA) closure by minimal invasive procedures compared to oral anticoagulants (OACs) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), concentrating on adverse events and overall clinical outcomes. The results seek to elucidate the most effective treatment. This umbrella meta-analysis intends to evaluate the safety and efficacy [...]