Pharmacotherapy
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Multicenter Study
Effect of Preinjury Oral Anticoagulants on Outcomes Following Traumatic Brain Injury from Falls in Older Adults.
Warfarin has been the oral anticoagulant of choice for the treatment of thromboembolic disease. However, upward of 50% of all new anticoagulant prescriptions are now for direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC). Despite this, outcome data evaluating preinjury anticoagulants remain scarce following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Our study objective is to determine the effects of preinjury anticoagulation on outcomes in older adults with TBI. ⋯ In older adults with TBI, preinjury treatment with warfarin or DOACs resulted in an increased risk of mortality or hospice whereas preinjury AP therapy did not increase risk. Future studies are needed with larger sample sizes to directly compare TBI outcomes associated with preinjury warfarin versus DOAC use.