Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0012833 (dizziness)
 9,689 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Apixaban, a direct factor Xa inhibitor, is a novel oral anticoagulant (NOAC) indicated for prevention of embolic events in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. The agent is associated with a lower risk of bleeding compared with vitamin K antagonists such as warfarin. Hemopericardium is a life-threatening bleeding event that is rarely caused by anticoagulants. We describe the case of a 76-year-old woman who was diagnosed with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation and treated with apixaban. Six weeks later, she was hospitalized after complaints of weakness and dizziness, and a chest radiograph revealed cardiomegaly. Further imaging, including a computed tomography scan and transthoracic echocardiogram, confirmed a diagnosis of hemopericardium. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of hemopericardium associated with apixaban therapy. This report, along with two previous cases reports of hemopericardium associated with dabigatran and rivaroxaban, emphasizes the need for careful use of NOACs and for further research to identify an antidote or other method for controlling hemorrhage secondary to NOACs in an acute setting. Furthermore, clinicians should consider hemopericardium in the differential diagnosis of patients treated with anticoagulants, including NOACs, who present with cardiomegaly.
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PMID:Spontaneous Hemopericardium in a Patient Receiving Apixaban Therapy: First Case Report. 2609 20

Post-marketing reporting of adverse drug events is essential for new medications, as pre-FDA approval studies lack sufficient subject numbers to detect signals for rare events. Prescriptions for the novel oral anticoagulant factor Xa inhibitors (rivaroxaban, apixaban, edoxaban) have equaled or exceeded those for vitamin K antagonists in many clinical settings requiring chronic anticoagulation, and those of injectable heparins for deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis. We report the case of a 60-year-old woman followed for permanent atrial fibrillation who was prescribed apixaban. She rapidly developed worsening neurologic symptoms of imbalance and non-vertiginous dizziness preventing her from walking, headache, diplopia, and confusion/disorientation. Her symptoms began to resolve after stopping the drug, with return to baseline function within 72 h. Unbeknownst to her cardiology care team, the patient chose to re-challenge herself with apixaban at the same dose, producing identical symptoms and again total symptom resolution within 24 h of drug discontinuation. When seen by her physician, her physical examination was unchanged from her pre-treatment baseline. Symptoms did not recur when switched to rivaroxaban therapy.
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PMID:A Case of a Reversible Neurologic Adverse Reaction to Apixaban Confirmed by Re-Challenge. 2970 95