Clinical management of older persons with haemophilia.

Life expectancy for people with haemophilia (PWH) has improved and is now approaching that of the general population. The growing population of elderly PWH will therefore increasingly face the age-related morbidities such as cardiovascular diseases, malignant disease, liver disease, and bone and joint related diseases, as well as the lifestyle and psychosocial factors that accompany many of these conditions. For many PWH, frequent contact with haemophilia specialists within the comprehensive care centres supplants the relationship that individuals in the general population have with their general practitioners. As a result, there is a risk that elderly PWH may miss the chronic disease screening opportunities offered to the general population. This review focuses on the screening tests and examinations recommended for age-related comorbidities in the general population that may be applicable to the growing population of older people with haemophilia.

[New anticoagulants: better knowledge, better prescriptions]. / Hémostase. Nouveaux anticoagulants: bien les connaître pour bien les prescrire.

New oral anticoagulants are already or will be soon available. They have shown good efficacy and safety in various studies (prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism, atrial fibrillation). Their arrival will probably modify the prescription of the current anticoagulant agents. However some precaution should be given in their use pending post marketing studies. Although these new drugs are intended to replace mostly vitamin K antagonists, a place will remain for "old" anticoagulants during the next years.

Management of acute haemarthrosis in haemophilia A without inhibitors: literature review, European survey and recommendations.

Acute haemarthrosis is a frequent type of bleeding in individuals with haemophilia. Delayed and/or inadequate treatment can trigger a series of pathological changes within the joint, leading to a painful and disabling arthropathy. The early management of intra-articular bleeding has the potential to prevent chronic joint disease and may include a combination of factor replacement, rest, ice, rehabilitation and, in certain cases, joint aspiration. Little data are, however, available regarding the optimal management of acute haemarthrosis, especially with respect to replacement therapy and the use of adjunctive therapies (aspiration, avoidance of weight bearing and immobilization, as well as the use of anti-inflammatory medication and embolization). To provide more insight into the management of acute haemarthrosis in patients with haemophilia, a literature review was conducted. Concomitantly, current management was surveyed in 26 European haemophilia comprehensive care centres representing 15 different countries. The review highlights the need for future robust studies to better define the appropriate replacement therapy and the role of adjunctive therapies such as aspiration. The survey reveals much heterogeneity in the management of acute haemarthrosis across the EU. Within the constraints discussed, treatment recommendations are presented that reflect the literature, current practice and the clinical experience of the European Haemophilia Therapy Standardisation Board (EHTSB).

[Prolonged anticoagulation following chlorophacinone poisoning]. / Anticoagulation prolongée lors d'une intoxication à la chlorphacinone.

In 1985 and 1986 the Swiss Toxicologic Information Center registered 152 cases of rodenticide poisoning. Among those substances chlorophacinone, an indanedione derivative, has a prolonged antivitamin K effect. We report here the case of an eighteen-year-old female hospitalized 3 days after deliberately ingesting some 100 mg chlorophacinone. Her Quick time at admission was less than 10% (Prothrombin time 79 sec., normal control 12 sec.). Under high dose vitamin K therapy the Quick was rapidly corrected but fell again on each vitamin K withdrawal. In a search for a relation between the variations of prothrombin time and chlorophacinone plasma levels, these were assessed by HPLC. Prothrombin time (and vitamin K dependent factors VII and X) finally normalized only 7 weeks after chlorophacinone ingestion. Clinical condition remained satisfactory throughout and other biological parameters unaffected. This case emphasizes the need for prolonged clinical and laboratory follow-up for rodenticide intoxications and for vitamin K administration for several weeks.