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Thromb Haemost
DOI: 10.1055/a-2521-0923
Coagulation and Fibrinolysis

Influence of Direct Oral Anticoagulant Levels and Thrombin Generation on Postoperative Bleeding [SONAR]: A Nested Case–Control Study

Joseph R. Shaw 
1   Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa and Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
,
Na Li
2   Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
3   Department of Computing and Software, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
,
Matthieu Grussé
4   Department of Clinical Research, Stago, Gennevilliers, France
,
Patrick Van Dreden
4   Department of Clinical Research, Stago, Gennevilliers, France
,
Melanie St John
5   Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Transfusion Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
,
Joanne Nixon
5   Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Transfusion Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
,
Alex C. Spyropoulos 
6   Department of Medicine, The Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Northwell Health at Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, New York, United States
,
Sam Schulman 
7   Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
8   Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Perinatal Medicine, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia
,
Jerrold H. Levy
9   Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care, and Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, United States
,
Marc Carrier
1   Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa and Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
,
James D. Douketis
7   Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
› Author Affiliations Funding The PAUSE study was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (grant ID: 313156), the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (G-14-0006136), as well as the CanVECTOR research network.
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Abstract

Background A direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) concentration threshold above which an impact on surgical hemostasis starts to occur is unknown. Thrombin generation assays (TGAs) provide a measure of the coagulation phenotype. This study aimed to determine whether preoperative TGA parameters are associated with postoperative bleeding, and whether this is partly due to residual DOAC levels.

Materials and Methods We conducted a nested case–control study using samples from apixaban/rivaroxaban-treated patients with atrial fibrillation from the PAUSE (Perioperative Anticoagulation Use for Surgery Evaluation) perioperative study. Cases were participants with postoperative major or clinically relevant nonmajor bleeding; controls were participants without bleeding. DOAC levels were measured using a chromogenic anti-Xa assay (BIOPHEN DiXaI; rivaroxaban/apixaban calibrators). TGA parameters were measured using calibrated automated thrombography.

Generalized linear mixed models and causal mediation analyses were used to evaluate the relationship between DOAC levels, TGA parameters, and bleeding.

Results Forty eight cases were matched to 474 controls. Residual DOAC levels were higher in cases than controls (p¼0.03) and each TGA parameter was correlated with residual DOAC levels (p<0.05). A longer lag time (LT; odds ratio [OR]¼1.319 per minute [95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.077–1.617]) and time-to-peak (TTP; OR¼1.154 per minute [95% CI: 1.028–1.296]) were associated with an increased odds of bleeding; higher peak (OR¼0.994 per nM [95% CI: 0.989–0.998]) and mean velocity rate index (mVRI; OR¼0.986 per nM/min [95% CI: 0.976–0.996]) were associated with a lower odds of bleeding. The effect of apixaban/rivaroxaban levels on bleeding was mediated by altered TGA parameters (LT, TTP, peak, mVRI).

Conclusion These findings support a measurable effect from low residual DOAC levels on thrombin generation and suggest a causal contribution of both toward bleeding.

Keywords

anticoagulants - thrombin generation - perioperative medicine - atrial fibrillation - hemostasis

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.


Authors' Contribution

The lead author (J.R.S.) affirms that the manuscript is an honest, accurate, and transparent account of the study being reported and that no important aspects of the study have been omitted. Conceptualization: J.S.R.; methodology: J.S.R., N.L., M.G., P.V.D., J.D.D.; investigation: J.S.R., N.L., M.G., P.V.D.; supervision: J.D.D.; writing—original draft: J.S.R.; writing—review and editing: J.S.R., N.L., M.G., P.V.D., M.S., J.N., A.C.S., S.S., J.H.L., M.C., J.D.D.


Supplementary Material



Publication History

Received: 30 October 2024

Accepted: 20 January 2025

Accepted Manuscript online:
21 January 2025

Article published online:
11 February 2025

© 2025. Thieme. All rights reserved.

Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Oswald-Hesse-Straße 50, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany

Bibliographical Record
Joseph R. Shaw, Na Li, Matthieu Grussé, Patrick Van Dreden, Melanie St John, Joanne Nixon, Alex C. Spyropoulos, Sam Schulman, Jerrold H. Levy, Marc Carrier, James D. Douketis. Influence of Direct Oral Anticoagulant Levels and Thrombin Generation on Postoperative Bleeding [SONAR]: A Nested Case–Control Study. Thromb Haemost ; : a25210923.
DOI: 10.1055/a-2521-0923
 

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