Use of hemodialysis for the treatment of intracerebral hemorrhage in patients on dabigatran with normal renal function

Abstract

Dabigatran is a direct thrombin inhibitor which is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for prevention of embolic stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation. Dabigatran has been shown to be noninferior to warfarin in preventing stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation [1, 6]. The rate of major bleeding in patients taking dabigatran is also similar to that seen in patients on warfarin [1]. Unlike warfarin, there is currently no antidote available for reversal of anticoagulant effects of dabigatran [2, 3]. Dabigatran is excreted renally and accumulates in patients with acute kidney injury (AKI). Hemodialysis has been reported to increase clearance of dabigatran in patients with acute kidney injury and life-threatening bleeding [4, 5]. We present two cases of dabigatran-associated intracranial hemorrhage where hemodialysis was used to accelerate clearance of dabigatran from the blood in patients with normal renal function.