The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the anticoagulant argatroban for the prevention and treatment of thrombosis associated with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT). HIT is a serious immune disorder that can occur when heparin is used to prevent blood clots. Of the 12 million persons who are treated with heparin annually, as many as 360,000 will develop HIT.
Argatroban works by blocking the activity of thrombin. The drug is the first synthetic direct thrombin inhibitor approved for the prevention and treatment of thrombosis in persons with HIT.
In clinical trials, argatroban provided a 21 percent relative reduction in the risk of death, amputation or new thrombosis and delayed the onset of these events. Use of argatroban led to significantly faster platelet count recovery and resulted in adequate anticoagulation in more than 75 percent of patients within three to five hours of the initiation of therapy.
Side effects associated with argatroban include gastrointestinal and genitourinary bleeding. Argatroban is contraindicated in patients with overt major bleeding or in patients hypersensitive to the drug or any of its components.
COPYRIGHT 2001 American Academy of Family Physicians
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group
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