Dabigatran-Induced Spontaneous Hemopericardium and Cardiac Tamponade

Hemopericardium in the setting of direct oral anticoagulant use: An updated systematic review

BACKGROUND

Spontaneous hemopericardium, associated with direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) use, is one of the uncommon complications with high morbidity that has not been extensively studied We aimed to determine demographic characteristics, clinical features, lab evaluation, management, and outcomes of the studies focusing on hemopericardium as a DOAC use.

METHODS

PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and CINAHL databases were searched for relevant articles using MeSH key-words and imported into referencing/review software. The data regarding demographics, clinical characteristics, cardiac investigations, and management were analyzed in IBM Statistics SPSS 21. t-Test and Chi-square test were used. A P score of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

After literature search, a total of 41 articles were selected for analysis. The mean age of the patients was 70.09 ± 11.06 years (p < 0.05); the majority of them were males (58.5%). Most of the patients presented with shortness of breath (75.2%) and had more than 3 co-morbid conditions (43.9%). The most frequently used anticoagulant was rivaroxaban (15/41; 36.6%); the common indication being arrhythmia (78.0%). CYP4503A4/P-Gp inhibitors (22.2%) were commonly used by the patients. Majority of the cases had a favorable outcome (95.1%). Pericardial tamponade was noted in 31/41 cases. Pericardiocentesis was performed in 37/41 cases.

CONCLUSIONS

Hemopericardium from DOAC use has a favorable outcome but requires urgent pericardiocentesis. However, long term mortality, monitoring of DOAC activity, and drug-drug interactions have not been widely studied.

Vitamin K deficiency-induced spontaneous haemopericardium and cardiac tamponade in an infant with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency: a case report

Background 

Vitamin K deficiency bleeding is a life-threatening complication in early infancy. Exclusive breastfeeding and neonatal cholestasis syndromes, most notable α-1-antitrypsin deficiency, have been reported to be risk factors. Intracranial haemorrhage is most common. No association to haemopericardium has been reported before.

Case summary 

We report on an 11 weeks old at term-born infant, who presented with severe anaemia and signs of cardiogenic shock. Immediately echocardiography was done and depicted cardiac tamponade. Pericardiocentesis was performed and a significant amount of haemorrhagic fluid was removed. Further workup revealed deranged coagulation parameters, cholestatic liver disease, and reduced α-1-antitrypsin levels. Despite normal brain sonography, a small cerebral haemorrhage was detected on magnetic resonance imaging. A genetic test finally proofed homozygotic mutation of the SERPINA1-gene and confirmed the diagnosis of α-1-antitrypsin deficiency as the underlaying cause. After initial replacement of coagulation factors, erythrocytes and vitamin K, the infant recovered. Eighteen weeks after discharge, the infant is still on vitamin K supplementation. She did not have any further bleedings and no neurologic or developmental impairment.

Discussion 

Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency can lead to vitamin K deficiency in young infants even with adequate prophylaxis. Spontaneous haemorrhagic pericardial effusion was a new manifestation of vitamin K deficiency bleeding in our patient and should be considered and ruled out in young infants who present with acute anaemia and poor clinical condition.

Delayed cardiac tamponade following catheter ablation of frequent premature ventricular complexes: a case report

Background

Cardiac tamponade is a potentially fatal complication after catheter ablation of ventricular arrhythmias. It often happens during or shortly after the procedure and needs urgent treatment. Here, we present a very incredible case about delayed cardiac tamponade after ablation of premature ventricular complexes.

Case presentation

A 66-year-old woman who underwent successful catheter ablation of right ventricular outflow tract origin premature ventricular complexes. Nineteen days after ablation, the patient experienced sudden syncope. Upon arriving at our hospital, she was “confused and shock”. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed hemorrhagic cardiac tamponade, which was considered due to a delayed tiny perforation in the heart induced by the previous ablation. Following an emergent pericardiocentesis to drain a 200 mL hemorrhagic effusion, the patient’s hemodynamics improved significantly. The patient was discharged after a 2-week hospitalization for investigating other probable causes with negative results. No signs of pericardial effusion recurred in a follow-up time of 12 months.

Conclusion

This case report demonstrated, for the first time, that very late post-procedural cardiac tamponade might occur after catheter ablation of ventricular arrhythmias, even without antithrombotic treatment.

An Uncommon Case of Spontaneous Hemopericardium in a Patient Treated with Rivaroxaban

We describe a case of an 88-year-old woman with a severe bluntly ematic pericardial effusion. Radiological and laboratory examinations excluded all the most common causes of hemopericardium, and the diagnosis of spontaneous hemopericardium associated with the treatment with rivaroxaban was made. This is the first case report describing a hemopericardium in a patient treated with rivaroxaban who did not take other herbal products or drugs that may significantly increase rivaroxaban blood levels. This report emphasizes the need for the careful use of new oral anticoagulants, and the importance of taking in mind uncommon side effects. Spontaneous hemopericardium should be considered in these patients.

Dabigatran must be used carefully: literature review and recommendations for management of adverse events

Atrial fibrillation increases the risk of stroke and death. The vitamin-K antagonist warfarin is recommended for patients with atrial fibrillation, but vitamin-K antagonists are cumbersome to use. Therefore, an effective, safe and convenient new anticoagulant is needed. Dabigatran acts by inhibiting free and fibrin-bound thrombin directly. It is an oral anticoagulant that was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. The oral anticoagulant dabigatran has been used increasingly due to its good tolerance, predictable pharmacokinetics, effective anticoagulant effects, and absence of requirement of coagulation monitoring. However, an increasing prevalence of adverse events has been reported, some of them quite serious. Therefore, we searched and reviewed the literature on dabigatran with regard to adverse events, and proposed solutions to prevent and reduce the chance of adverse events occurring.

Hemorrhagic Cardiac Tamponade Associated with Apixaban: A Case Report and Systematic Review of Literature

BACKGROUND

Hemorrhagic cardiac tamponade (HCT) is characterized by rapid accumulation of blood in the pericardium causing hemodynamic collapse. We report a case of HCT due to Apixaban use in a patient with renal cell carcinoma, supplemented with a systematic review of pericardial tamponade associated with the use of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs).

CASE REPORT

A 62-year-old African American male with a history of metastatic renal cell carcinoma presented with dyspnea while taking Apixaban. He was diagnosed with pericardial tamponade and 800 ml of hemorrhagic effusion was drained. The pericardial fluid analysis was negative for malignancy and suggestive of HCT. He had a complicated hospital course and died several days later.

METHODS

We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and other sources for published cases of pericardial tamponade associated with DOACs. Our outcomes of interest included patient characteristics, risk factors, timing from the start of anticoagulation to tamponade, treatment and mortality. Simple descriptive statistics using percentages for categorical variables were used to describe the included cases.

RESULTS

A total of 26 cases were included in the final systematic review after searching MEDLINE, EMBASE and other sources. The mean age was 70 years (range 43-88) with 19 (73%) males. Twelve cases (46%) were associated with Rivaroxaban, 9 (37%) with Dabigatran and 5(19%) with Apixaban. Sixteen cases had elevated INR and 15 had elevated creatinine. Only 2 patients died but 24 had to undergo pericardiocentesis.

CONCLUSION

Cardiac tamponade is rarely associated with DOACs and elderly male patients with renal and coagulation abnormalities appear to have the highest risk.