Reversal of direct oral anticoagulants in hemophilia treatment: ASH meeting 2015

During the 57(th) annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology 2015 in Orlando, Florida, various aspects in the field of hemostaseology were presented. The Choosing Wisely® campaign pointed out the importance of the critical use of diagnostic tools to rule out pulmonary embolism and questioned the relevance of thrombophilia testing in women undergoing routine infertility evaluation. Furthermore, the approval of idarucizumab, a specific antidote for the reversal of the anticoagulant effects of the direct thrombin inhibitor dabigatran, was highlighted. Finally, hemophilia specialists awaited the results of the SIPPET Trial, which were presented for the first time during the plenary session. Replacement therapy of previously untreated hemophilia A patients with plasma-derived factor VIII containing von Willebrand factor resulted in a lower incidence of inhibitors compared with patients treated with recombinant factor VIII.