Mechanical heart valve patients switched to DOACs during COVID-19 pandemic to be reviewed 'urgently’

摘要

More than 700 patients with a mechanical heart valve who were switched to a direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) during the pandemic should be reviewed “urgently” before 28 July 2021, a “safety critical” National Patient Safety Alert from NHS England has ordered (https://www.cas.mhra.gov.uk/ViewandAcknowledgment/ViewAlert.aspx?AlertID=103164) . In March 2020, NHS England published guidance (https://www.nice.org.uk/Media/Default/About/COVID-19/Specialty-guides/specialty-guide-anticoagulant-services-and-coronavirus.pdf) advising clinical teams to review patients taking vitamin K antagonists (VKA), such as warfarin, and change their medication to an alternative anticoagulant where appropriate, such as a low molecular weight heparin (LMWH), such as dalteparin, or a DOAC, apixaban.