Study: Ximelagatran Bests Coumadin® in Preventing Blood Clots After Knee Replacement

The blood-thinning drug ximelagatran is better than Coumadin® (warfarin) in preventing blood clots after knee replacement surgery, according to a study reported in the Oct. 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Ximelagatran was developed as an alternative to warfarin, which requires constant monitoring, can cause a host of side effects and interacts negatively with certain foods and drugs, according to study author Dr. Charles W. Francis of the University of Rochester.

"Coumadin is a fine drug, but lots of people don't do well on it. We've been 50 years with no alternative and now it looks like we have one," said Francis. He noted that because ximelagatran is absorbed quickly, it does not require adjustments or close monitoring and has no food or drug interactions.

Since blood clots occur in 40 to 80 percent of patients after total knee replacement surgery, patients usually take a blood-thinning drug.

University of Rochester Medical Center researchers tested both 24-milligram and 36-milligram doses of ximelagatran against warfarin in their study of 2,300 patients.

In the warfarin group, 27.6 percent developed blood clots, compared to 20.3 percent in the higher-dose ximelagatran group and 24.9 percent in the lower-dose ximelagatran group.

There were no significant differences in the groups for bleeding after surgery or wound healing. The most common post-operative complication was anemia, which occurred in 8 to 10 percent of the patients in each group.

Other sources: University of Rochester Medical Center