COVID-Inflicted Coagulopathy: Expert Consensus on Management with Novel Oral Anticoagulants in India

• Published in: Journal of the Association of Physicians of India Vol. 69; no. 12; pp. 11 - 12
• Main Authors: Chopra, H K, Nair, Tiny, Ponde, C K, Kaul, Subhash, Mehta, Yatin, Vora, Agam, Mukhopadhyay, Pinaki, Jayagopal, P B, Behera, Mrutyunjay, Patil, Rahul, Deshpande, Mahesh, Anantharaman, R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: India 01.12.2022
• Subjects: Administration, Oral; Anticoagulants - therapeutic use; Consensus; COVID-19; Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight; Humans; India - epidemiology; Pandemics; SARS-CoV-2; India
• ISSN: 0004-5772

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly hypercoagulable viral infection complicated as COVID-inflicted coagulopathy (CIC), that is associated with increased risk of morbidity and mortality. International guidelines recommend low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) to treat CIC in both in-hospital and in-home settings. However, in India, using subcutaneous LMWH may not be a feasible option for a vast majority of patients under home management. Additionally, while some evidence advocates the use of novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs), in hospitalized settings, most guidelines find no role of NOACs in hospital settings. On the other hand, the resource crunch faced in recent COVID-19 pandemic in India forced physicians to treat many patients in home settings. These patients had been usually prescribed NOACs for ease of administration and adherence. Therefore, there is a need to form a consensus on the use of NOACs to manage CIC in India.