A new study suggests that the Pradaxa bleeding risk is significantly higher than warfarin, the drug it was created to compete with. This study could determine whether or not the potential Pradaxa benefits outweigh the risks of Pradaxa internal bleeding.

Pradaxa is one of several new generation anticoagulants that has been connected with severe internal bleeding side effects. It was the first in this new class of drugs and was followed by Xarelto and Eliquis.

Pradaxa was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2010 as an alternative to warfarin. Warfarin had been the leading anticoagulant for decades, but many had complained of the limited diet it required as well as the need for additional monitoring. Pradaxa required no such monitoring and did not restrict a patient’s diet.

However, countless individuals have experienced Pradaxa internal bleeding side effects. Many are unaware of the Pradaxa bleeding risk.

Pradaxa Bleeding Study

A study was published in the January edition of JAMA Internal Medicine. Researchers were from both the United States and Spain. It was found that patients who used Pradaxa over warfarin were 50 percent more likely to suffer from a dangerous Pradaxa internal bleeding. Eighty-five percent were more likely to experience some form of gastrointestinal Pradaxa bleeding.

It was found that Pradaxa users are less likely to experience intracranial bleeding when compared to warfarin users.

The study examined nearly 10,000 individuals who used either Pradaxa or warfarin. Patients used these drugs between 2010 and 2011. It was suggested that Pradaxa should be used carefully.

This risk of experiencing Pradaxa internal bleeding is more complicated than with warfarin because there is no Pradaxa antidote. If a patient uses warfarin and experiences internal bleeding side effects, there is an antidote that can be used which can save a patient’s life. There is no Pradaxa antidote. The same is true for Xarelto and Eliquis. Therefore, when patients experience internal bleeding side effects, it is far more uncontrollable and dangerous.

The researchers from the study, based at the University of Pittsburgh and La Paz University Hospital in Madrid, Spain, recommended that Pradaxa be prescribed with caution.

Pradaxa Internal Bleeding Lawsuit

So far, over 4,000 Pradaxa internal bleeding lawsuits have been filed against Boehringer Ingelheim, the drug’s manufacturer.

Pradaxa internal bleeding lawsuits have claimed that the drug company failed to do proper research about the drug and failed to warn against Pradaxa bleeding or the lack of Pradaxa antidote. Already, $650 million has been paid in Pradaxa settlements this year.

Due to the dangers of Pradaxa, many have turned to the newer anticoagulants, unaware that they carry similar Pradaxa bleeding risks.

A Pradaxa internal bleeding class action lawsuit has also been launched.