Xarelto belongs to the anticoagulant group of drugs. Anticoagulants tend to prevent clot formation in blood vessels by inhibiting a hypercoagulable state. This drug is used to prevent blood clot formation in patients who have undergone knee replacement surgery or total hip replacement.
The usual dose of Xaletro is 10 mg (one tablet) taken orally, once a day. The drug can either be taken with or without food since bioavailability is not affected. This medication is usually started 6 to 10 hours after the surgery. For knee replacement surgery, the treatment should be continued for 14 days. For hip replacement surgery, the treatment should be continued for 35 days.
Xarelto is contraindicated for patients allergic to it, those at a high risk of bleeding, pregnancy or breast feeding states, liver diseases and when taking certain medications like itraconazole, ketoconazole, ritonavir, and many others.
Side effects of this drug can be grouped into 3: common, uncommon and rare.
Common side effects of this drug include: Fever, edema of extremeties, nausea, vomiting. Others are bleeding states for example, gastrointestinal bleeding, nose bleeding, brain hemorrhage, bleeding from the genitals, gums, adrenal glands, rectum, eyes, heamoptysis, hematemesis, post procedure bleeding. Hypovolemic shock can also develop if bleeding is not well managed. Common side effects could either occur singly or in combinations or worsen a patient’s existing condition.
Uncommon side effects of taking this drug are: Blood dyscrasias, constipation, bruising, diarrhea, tachycardia, dry mouth, dizziness, abdominal pain. Indigestion, headaches, pruritus, kidney problems, reduced blood pressure, pain in extremities, rashes, fatigue, weakness and even edema. Compared to the common side effects, these ones usually appear to be less common in occurrence and are also less severe.
Rare complications that could result from ingestion of this drug include: dermatitis, liver problems, malaise, urticaria, and fainting. This commonly occurs in the event of overdose of a given drug or usage over a long period.
Patients who tend to experience these side effects ought to be withdrawn from taking this drug and another anticoagulant prescribed for their medical condition.
From the above list of side effects, bleeding seems to be the commonest and has a worse r outcome in the event that hypovolemic shock develops. When such a state is reached, end organ damage sets in and vital organs are damaged. In hypovolemic shock, the commonest organs affected are the kidneys which lead to acute renal failure.