Efficacy and Safety of Dabigatran vs. Warfarin for Stroke
After more than five decades as the preferred anticoagulant worldwide, warfarin is being challenged by a new rival that doesn't require careful dosage monitoring. Pradaxa (dabigatran) was unanimously approved by the FDA on October 19, 2010 for treating atrial fibrillation (AF) patients, who are at an increased risk for suffering stroke and systemic embolisms (U.S. Food and Drug Administration). Dabigatran acts by binding directly to thrombin. Warfarin (Coumadin) is an anticoagulant that functions by inhibiting the synthesis of vitamin K-dependent clotting factors (Lemos et al., 770-771). Variations in the levels of vitamin K in the diet can influence how effective a given dose of warfarin is for a patient, so appropriate therapeutic dosages are determined on an individual basis periodically through a standardized clotting test (international normalized ratio [INR]). Even though warfarin can reduce the risk of stroke in AF patients...
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