New blood thinners such as Pradaxa and Xarelto have made news because of lawsuits that blame the drugs for causing uncontrollable internal bleeding, including brain hemorrhage.

According to recent Eliquis news, the newest blood thinner to enter the market, Eliquis, is also known to carry a high risk of internal bleeding, specifically brain hemorrhage, which could prove fatal to patients.

What is Eliquis?

Eliquis (apixaban) was developed jointly by Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb as an anticoagulant, or blood thinner, approved by the FDA in 2012. Originally, Eliquis was approved for stroke prevention in patients who have a heartbeat irregularity known as atrial fibrillation. Eliquis use was later expanded to patients at risk for pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis, conditions also caused by blood clots.

Eliquis is in the same family of anticoagulants as Pradaxa and Xarelto. These medications were widely proclaimed to be far superior to the blood thinning medication, warfarin (Coumadin), because they were claimed to require less patient blood monitoring and fewer dietary restrictions.

Eliquis News

However, a recent study published in the Journal of Neurosurgery warned that there is an extreme lack of experimental and clinical data available for doctors who need to stop Eliquis or other blood thinner bleeds to save patient lives.

Researchers from various Pennsylvania universities and medical centers compared data regarding new blood thinners like Eliquis and old anticoagulants, like Warfarin, and further indicated blood thinner users are at a significant risk if they stop using these drugs and may be at greater danger of developing brain bleeds and thrombotic events.

“To date, there are no human studies of reversal agents in patients who require rapid (Eliquis) reversal,” the researchers warned. They found that in clinical studies using rabbits, Eliquis “resulted in increased blood loss, lengthened bleeding time, and clotting time. Some treatments reduced bleeding time, clotting time and prothrombin time, but only vitamin-k based treatments had any success in reducing actual blood loss”.

While news sources state that the blood thinner presents less of a risk of bleeding in the brain (or brain hemorrhage) than warfarin when given to AFib patients. The trouble is that, as with Pradaxa and Xarelto, Eliquis may cause more serious bleeding events in other regions of the body.

In turn, these bleeding events may be more difficult to treat. With Warfarin, which thins the blood by blocking Vitamin K, administering a bleeding patient with Vitamin K can serve as an antidote to a severe bleeding event. There is no such antidote to date for Eliquis, which in turn can lead to more severe outcomes for those suffering from anticoagulant-induced bleeding events.

Side Effects of Eliquis

Eliquis news reports have recently linked the anticoagulant to side effects such as a brain hemorrhage and other serious internal bleeding side effects.  These serious side effects of Eliquis can be extremely difficult to treat. Warning signs and symptoms of internal bleeding may include:

• discolored urine (blood in the urine)
• red or black-colored stool
• vomiting or coughing up blood
• frequent nose bleeds or gum bleeding
• weakness and swelling in the extremities
• any other unusual bleeding

Eliquis Lawsuits

While doctors can use common treatments like Vitamin K to reverse the blood-thinning effects of older anticoagulants, such as Warfarin, no such antidote exists for Eliquis. As a result, doctors may not be able to properly treat Eliquis patients should they start bleeding internally, putting them at risk for serious injury and even death.

If you or a loved one suffered a brain hemorrhage or other side effects of Eliquis, you may be able to file an Eliquis lawsuit and recover compensation for your losses.