Washington: Blood clots can now be easily stopped without needles, says a new study. Blood clots, known as deep vein thrombosis, affect the large veins of the leg and thigh. They are responsible for killing hundreds of people around the world, esp. after joint replacement surgery. When a blood clot breaks free and travels through the bloodstream, it can become lodged in the lungs, a condition known as pulmonary embolism, which is often fatal. Treating blood clots with syringes after joint surgery is painful and can cause bleeding. Now an international team has found a better way to prevent the formation of deadly blood clots without increasing the risk of bleeding, reports the New England Journal of Medicine. In a double-blind study involving more than 3,000 patients, scientists tested a new type of anti-clotting drug called apixaban, which is an oral medication. The drug proved to be just as effective at preventing blood clots and halving the risk of bleeding. Most of all for patient convenience, they said it was much easier to use.��� This is an important step in our fight to prevent DVT and the many unnecessary deaths each year caused by blood clots after joint replacement surgery. “Now we have a better treatment that reduces the risk of bleeding, and the patient no longer needs to be injected with a needle,” said team leader Gary Raskob of the University of Oklahoma.
