Management of prehospital antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy in traumatic head injury: a review

Abstract

Trauma and emergency department clinicians encounter a growing number of patients admitted with traumatic head injury on prehospital antithrombotic therapies. These patients appear to be at increased risk of developing life-threatening intracranial hemorrhage. It is imperative that trauma clinicians understand the mechanism and duration of commonly prescribed outpatient antithrombotics in order to appropriately assess and treat patients who develop intracranial hemorrhage. This review summarizes current literature on the morbidity and mortality associated with premorbid non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, aspirin, clopidogrel, warfarin, and heparinoids in the setting of traumatic head injury, and also examines the current strategies for reversal of these therapies.