Oral anticoagulants for primary and secondary prevention of venous thromboembolism

Until recently, vitamin K antagonists (VKA; predominantly warfarin) were the only oral anticoagulants for primary and secondary prevention of venous thromboembolism. Prevention and therapy with novel, direct, non-VKA oral anticoagulant agents (NOACs; DOACs: dabigatran, rivaroxaban, apixaban, edoxaban), have recently become available as an alternative to VKA. NOACs have been shown to be non-inferior or superior to VKA in clinical trials. Available results suggest that real world safety of NOACs is mostly consistent with results observed in clinical trials. The most effective method is triple simultaneous prevention of venous thromboembolism (pharmaco kinezio mechano phlebothromboemboloprophylaxis).Key words: oral anticoagulants - NOAC/DOAC - thromboprophylaxis - venous thromboembolism - VKA.