Thrombosis Infographic Series: NOACs in VTE

These infographics are a series of introductory tools for learners in the ED for thrombosis and hemostasis. The goal is to provide a visual guide to the how, when, and why of thrombosis and its treatment in the ED. We will use a mechanistic approach to help you build a conceptual framework to understand how these diseases work.

We will cover:

(1) hemostasis
(2) diseases of hemostasis including thrombo- and hemophilias
(3) antithrombotic treatments and how common agents work,
(4) treatment reversal strategies and how they work,
(5) hemostasis in trauma including fibrinolytics and acquired coagulopathies.

Why were these infographics developed

There are two common ways subspecialty knowledge of new topics in medicine are communicated: (1) word of mouth and experience, and (2) journal articles. Formal journal articles as we all know, are almost always next to useless for communicating the clinical relevance of a topic, and definitely always useless for learners. Experts don’t have a problem reading between the lines because they have experience and prefer these convoluted methods because they allow for communication of a ton of information at one time.

The problem is that this makes for a major barrier for translating new medical advances.

So why not break it down into small manageable pieces for people to digest? This series of tools are being developed because hemostasis and thrombosis is a field that is extremely relevant to the ED, but poorly understood by learners because of the reliance on classical methods of teaching.

Throughout my graduate schooling, I had to come up with easy ways to understand (and remember) all the nitty gritty biochemistry that is required in this field. This series outlines my approach for you which hopefully you’ll find useful. Please feel free to send me any feedback to improve future parts of this series!

NOACs in VTE Infographic:

This infographic is designed to give the ED learner an introduction to the key reasons why new oral anticoagulants are now being used. Due to the controversial status of these drugs, this piece also serves to lay out the major points of discussion as it pertains to the ED.

Click HERE download the complete Infographic (9.9 MB).

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Calvin Yeh

Calvin is a MD/PhD student at McMaster University. Calvin completed PhD studies under Dr. Jeffrey Weitz at the Thrombosis and Atherosclerosis Research Institute. He focussed on the biochemical mechanism and regulation of the coagulation system in the context of anticoagulant drugs including the new (direct) oral anticoagulants.