For prevention of venous thromboembolism after noncardiac surgery, direct oral anticoagulants may be preferred over low-molecular-weight heparin, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs), low-dose low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) and high-dose LMWH all reduced risk for symptomatic VTE and increased risk for major bleeding compared with no treatment, but DOACs reduced symptomatic VTE without increasing bleeding compared with low-dose LMWH, the researchers wrote in The BMJ.
Maura Marcucci, MD, MSc, assistant professor in the departments of medicine