Anticoagulants

Venous and/or arterial thrombosis can be prevented and treated with anticoagulants. Anticoagulants are a class of medications that act at various stages of the coagulation cascade and are chemically diverse. Heparin and other heparin-based anticoagulants are indirect anticoagulants that attach to antithrombin and boost their ability to block blood clotting. Warfarin and other coumarin derivatives prevent the liver from producing coagulation factors (vitamin K antagonists). Direct inhibitors of the clotting cascade enzymes, primarily thrombin, make up the third class. There are certain clinical disadvantages of using traditional anticoagulants, such as coumarins and unfractionated heparin. Due to its unpredictable and varied pharmacokinetics, heparin needs parenteral administration and is challenging to dose and monitor. Brodifacoum and chlorophacinone are anticoagulants that can induce morbidity and mortality in wild animals, particularly those that eat rodents. These tiny mammals are...