phenprocoumon and Gangrene

Type II of heparin-associated thrombocytopenia (HAT) is well known, but the cardinal symptom, thrombocytopenia, is rarely adequately considered. Serious and potential lethal complications such as pulmonary embolism, cerebral stroke, or limb gangrene are often falsely regarded as insufficient anticoagulation. Guided diagnosis and therapy are of vital importance for the patient's outcome. Based on the experience of patients with HAT Type II treated in the intensive care unit, a diagnostic and therapeutic approach to the cardinal symptom thrombocytopenia is presented. A recently developed heparin-induced platelet activation assay (HIPAA) seems to be a highly sensitive laboratory test. The first therapeutic principle in case of presumed and diagnosed HAT is the cessation of unfractioned or low-molecular-weight heparins. ORG 10172 (Orgaran), a low-sulfated heparinoid with a low cross-reactivity (10%) to heparins, can be regarded as the most effective anticoagulant in patients with HAT Type II.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anticoagulants; Arterial Occlusive Diseases; Chondroitin Sulfates; Dermatan Sulfate; Diagnosis, Differential; Female; Gangrene; Heparin; Heparitin Sulfate; Humans; Middle Aged; Phenprocoumon; Platelet Activation; Platelet Aggregation; Platelet Count; Pulmonary Embolism; Recurrence; Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome; Thrombocytopenia; Thromboembolism; Thrombophlebitis

To determine whether long-term oral anticoagulant treatment was effective in improving graft performance and preventing major amputation following vein bypass surgery for femoropopliteal atherosclerosis, a clinical trial was conducted in one single center and continued during 10 years. After 130 patients had electively received a femoropopliteal vein graft, they were randomly assigned to a therapy group (treatment with phenprocoumon [n = 66]) or to a control group (n = 64) that remained without any anticoagulant treatment. Primary end points of the study were graft reocclusion and limb loss. The median durations of primary patency and limb salvage were significantly longer for treated patients than that for controls. In addition, survival in the therapy group was longer. Following autologous vein bypass surgery in the treated group, the results were superior in terms of graft patency, limb salvage, and survival.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Aged; Arteriosclerosis; Blood Coagulation Tests; Female; Femoral Artery; Follow-Up Studies; Gangrene; Graft Occlusion, Vascular; Humans; Intermittent Claudication; Male; Middle Aged; Phenprocoumon; Popliteal Artery; Pulse; Saphenous Vein; Survival Rate; Tablets; Vascular Patency