Is Routine Monitoring of Patients Taking Newer Anticoagulants Needed?

​Clinicians may be interested in an article published July 23, 2014, in BMJ that examines the controversy about the efficacy of the newer anticoagulant dabigatran compared with warfarin to prevent stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation. The advantage of using dabigatran, according to its manufacturer, is that it does not require time-consuming monitoring of blood coagulation activity. However, the article says some evidence indicates that patients taking the drug may have a higher risk of bleeding than previously reported. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently reaffirmed its decision to approve dabigatran (see the May 30, 2014, Physician Practice E-News).