Preventing Blood Clots in Knee-Surgery Patients

Both were equally well tolerated. The thrombin inhibitor is the first in a new class of oral anticoagulants under investigation in nearly 50 years, says the developer, AstraZeneca (London, UK). It prevents clot formation in a different way from low-molecular-weight heparin and the blood thinner warfarin, acting in the final stage of the formation of a clot by inhibiting thrombin.

Patients undergoing hip or knee replacement are at high risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which may result in pulmonary embolism (PE). DVT and PE are collectively referred to as VTE.



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