Pradaxa Used More for Off-Label Purposes

9/14/2012 5:00 PM EST

Pradaxa - an anti-coagulant drug used for stroke reduction in atrial fibrillation (Afib) cases - is now being adopted more and more for off-label purposes, say researchers.

MedPage Today reports that according to research published online in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, the use of Pradaxa for Afib has dropped from 92 percent to 63 percent. It is now increasingly prescribed for off-label purposes including venous thromboembolism (VTE) and coronary artery disease.

Pradaxa (dabigatran) was the first successor to warfarin when it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2010.

After Pradaxa, another anti-coagulation agent, Xarelto, was approved by the FDA for stroke reduction in Afib cases. The FDA is currently reviewing a third drug, Eliquis.

Pradaxa use for patients with Afib and the use of Xarelto and Eliquis to prevent blood clots in hip and knee replacement patients were included in the guidelines for recommendation by the American College of Chest Physicians, according to MedPage.

Another significant finding was that although warfarin was more frequently prescribed to patients older than 84 years, dabigatran is being used mostly for patients between the ages of 65-84.

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