Background: In the event of trauma, emergency reversal of anticoagulation therapy may be required. However, no specific reversal agents are routinely available for the direct oral anticoagulants such as dabigatran. The authors investigated four-factor prothrombin complex concentrate (PCC) for treating dabigatran-induced anticoagulation in a porcine polytrauma model.
Methods: Dabigatran etexilate was given orally for 3 days and intravenously on day 4 to 32 pigs. Animals were randomized 1:1:1:1 to PCC (25, 50, or 100 U/kg) or saline. Study medication was administered 12 min after bilateral femur fractures and blunt liver injury. The primary endpoint was blood loss at 300 min.
Results: The mean plasma concentration of dabigatran was 487 ± 161 ng/ml after intravenous administration. Blood loss was 3,855 ± 258 ml in controls and 3,588 ± 241 ml in the PCC25 group. In the PCC50 and PCC100 groups, blood loss was significantly lower: 1,749 ± 47 ml and 1,692 ± 97 ml, respectively. PCC50 and PCC100 effectively reduced dabigatran's effects on coagulation parameters, whereas control and (to a lesser extent) PCC25 animals developed severe coagulopathy. Sustained increases in endogenous thrombin potential occurred with PCC50 and PCC100.
Conclusion: Four-factor PCC (50 or 100 U/kg) is effective in reducing blood loss in dabigatran-anticoagulated pigs, but higher doses may induce a procoagulant state.