Proximal femur fractures in patients taking anticoagulants

Thirty per cent of patients presenting with proximal femoral fractures are receiving anticoagulant treatment for various other medical reasons. This pharmacological effect may necessitate reversal prior to surgical intervention to avoid interference with anaesthesia or excessive peri/post-operative bleeding. Consequently, delay to surgery usually occurs. Platelet inhibitors (aspirin, clopidogrel) either alone or combined do not need to be discontinued to allow acute hip surgery. Platelet transfusions can be useful but are rarely needed. Vitamin K antagonists (VKA, e.g. warfarin) should be reversed in a timely fashion and according to established readily accessible departmental protocols. Intravenous vitamin K on admission facilitates reliable reversal, and platelet complex concentrate (PCC) should be reserved for extreme scenarios. Direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) must be discontinued prior to hip fracture surgery but the length of time depends on renal function ranging traditionally from two to four days. Recent evidence suggests that early surgery (within 48 hours) can be safe. No bridging therapy is generally recommended. There is an urgent need for development of new commonly available antidotes for every DOAC as well as high-level evidence exploring DOAC effects in the acute hip fracture surgical setting. Cite this article: EFORT Open Rev 2020;5:699-706. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.5.190071