Irreversible Catastrophic Brain Hemorrhaging Following Minor Brain Injury in a Patient Taking Dabigatran

Posted: Published on March 7th, 2012

This post was added by Dr Simmons

Newswise Charlottesville, Va.; and Rolling Meadows, Ill. Clinicians from the University of Utah report the death of a patient who received a mild brain injury from a ground-level fall while taking the new anticoagulant dabigatran etexilate for nonvalve related atrial fibrillation. The authors describe the events that led from a mild traumatic brain injury to the mans death, the largely irreversible dangers of massive hemorrhage from direct thrombin inhibitors such as dabigatran, and the few management options that can be used to counteract this uncontrollable bleeding. Their findings and suggestions can be found in the article Neurosurgical complications of direct thrombin inhibitorscatastrophic hemorrhage after mild traumatic brain injury in a patient receiving dabigatran. Case report, by Drs. Sarah Garber, Walavan Sivakumar, and Richard Schmidt, published online March 6 in the Journal of Neurosurgery (click here to see the case report). The take-away message is that bleeding complications associated with direct thrombin inhibitors, such as dabigatran, are largely irreversible. Physicians should suspect the strong potential for catastrophic hemorrhage in patients taking these medications so that available, albeit limited, management options can be put into effect without delay.

Dabigatran etexilate (Pradaxa) is an oral anticoagulant (blood thinner) recently approved by the US FDA to lower the risk of stroke and prevent systemic embolism in persons with atrial fibrillation that is not heart valve related. It is an attractive alternative to other drugs used for atrial fibrillation because it can be taken orally, does not require repeated blood testing, and has little interaction with other drugs or food. Coagulation involves many steps, and anticoagulant drugs inhibit various steps in the coagulation cascade. Platelet function inhibitors, such as clopidogrel, and vitamin K blockers, such as warfarin, act at earlier steps in this cascade and there are readily available means to counter their effects. Dabigatran is a synthetic direct thrombin inhibitor that acts at the end of the cascade, and unfortunately, to date no agent is effective in reversing the drugs effects.

The authors review the case of an 83-year-old man, who fell from ground level and was evaluated for his injuries at the emergency department. Initially, the patient was fully alert and oriented and could respond to all verbal commands; his neurological exam yielded normal findings. Computed tomography (CT) scans revealed small, superficial areas of hemorrhage in his right temporal lobe and left temporal and parietal lobes. Within two hours after the man had entered the emergency department, his neurological state began to deteriorate rapidly, and repeat CT scanning showed extensive progression of brain hemorrhaging. Medical interventions, including intravenous administration of fluids, mannitol, hypertonic saline, and recombinant factor VIIa, proved ineffective at stopping the bleeding. Unfortunately, the patients neurological state continued to decline rapidly and he lapsed into a deep coma. Six hours after admission, final CT scans showed hemorrhage nearly filling the left hemisphere of the brain and extensive right-sided brain hemorrhage as well. Because it was clear that the patient could not survive this neurological injury, he was given palliative care. The man died soon afterward.

The authors point out that patients treated with dabigatran often are elderly and thus more likely to have problems with balance and falling. In this group of patients, a minor head trauma could result in intracranial hemorrhage with catastrophic outcome. Currently there is no effective medical antidote for dabigatran. The only recognized intervention is early initiation of renal dialysis to speed elimination of the drug, although such clearance may take 12 or more hours. Animal studies also suggest the use of high-dose prothrombin complex concentrate; while it has proved effective in mice, it still needs study in humans. Since the use of direct thrombin inhibitors for treatment of atrial fibrillation and other blood clotting disorders is expected to increase, medical providers and patients taking these drugs need to be aware of the risk for catastrophic hemorrhaging and the importance of rapid assessment and intervention after even seemingly minor trauma.

Garber ST, Sivakumar W, Schmidt RS. Neurosurgical complications of direct thrombin inhibitorscatastrophic hemorrhage after mild traumatic brain injury in a patient receiving dabigatran. Case report. Journal of Neurosurgery, published ahead of print March 6, 2012; DOI: 10.3171/2012.2.JNS112132.

Disclosure: The authors report no conflict of interest concerning the materials or methods used in this study or the findings specified in this paper.

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The Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics is a monthly peer-reviewed journal focused on diseases and disorders of the central nervous system and spine in children. This journal contains a variety of articles, including descriptions of preclinical and clinical research as well as case reports and technical notes. The Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics is one of four monthly journals published by the JNS Publishing Group, the scholarly journal division of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (http://www.AANS.org), an association dedicated to advancing the specialty of neurological surgery in order to promote the highest quality of patient care. The Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics appears in print and on the Internet (http://www.thejns.org).

Founded in 1931 as the Harvey Cushing Society, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (www.AANS.org) is a scientific and educational association with more than 8,100 members worldwide. The AANS is dedicated to advancing the specialty of neurological surgery in order to provide the highest quality of neurosurgical care to the public. All active members of the AANS are certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (Neurosurgery) of Canada or the Mexican Council of Neurological Surgery, AC. Neurological surgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of disorders that affect the entire nervous system, including the spinal column, spinal cord, brain and peripheral nerves

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Irreversible Catastrophic Brain Hemorrhaging Following Minor Brain Injury in a Patient Taking Dabigatran

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