4% of French people are on oral anticoagulants: these drugs include antivitamins K (AVK), known for a long time, and new non-antivitamin K anticoagulants (NACO) appeared on the market from 2008. These drugs are prescribed for the treatment and prevention of thromboembolic events in people who suffer from phlebitis, heart rhythm disturbances or have had a strokebecause they prevent blood clots from forming in the blood vessels.
While oral anticoagulant treatments with VKA remain largely in the majority (over 1 million patients treated1 against 265,000 for NOACs), there is currently widespread use of these new drugs at the very start of treatment. “Thus, in less than a year, nearly half of the patients starting oral anticoagulant therapy were prescribed treatment with NACO” declares the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM). A dynamic that has weakened slightly since the spring, according to a study by Health Insurance, probably because of concerns about Pradaxa, one of the new oral anticoagulants, which would have made victims.
The health authorities have therefore decided to alert health professionals “to optimize the use of anticoagulants and more especially of NOACs”. A letter will be sent to them shortly to remind them of the precautions to follow when setting up treatment with NACO in order to limit the risk of bleeding.
“These must be strictly observed, in particular in the elderly, in patients with renal insufficiency or in subjects benefiting from certain co-prescriptions (NSAIDs and antiplatelet agents). It is also recalled that the safety recommendations must be followed. These are treatments that must be taken very strictly and must not, under any circumstances, be modified or stopped by the patient without medical advice ”insists the ANSM in a press release.
