Guy Young, MD, director, Hemostasis and Thrombosis Program, attending physician, Hematology, Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, discusses the challenges of using anticoagulants in children with cancer.

Using anticoagulants in children with cancer is challenging because children have a higher risk of experiencing day-to-day trauma, says Young. Traumas such as a scraped knee are a normal occurrence for children, but when on an anticoagulant, the risk of bleeding is much higher.

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Guy Young, MD, director, Hemostasis and Thrombosis Program, attending physician, Hematology, Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, discusses the challenges of using anticoagulants in children with cancer.
 

Dr. Young on the Challenges of Using Anticoagulants in Children With Cancer

Guy Young, MD, director, Hemostasis and Thrombosis Program, attending physician, Hematology, Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, USC, discusses other options for managing bleeding in children with cancer.

For hospitalized children with cancer who develop a blood clot, bivalirudin (Angiomax), an intravenous-direct thrombin inhibitor, can be better than the traditionally-used heparin therapy, says Young.

Dr. Young on Other Options for Managing Bleeding in Children With Cancer

Guy Young, MD, director, Hemostasis and Thrombosis Program, attending physician, Hematology, Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, USC, discusses using vitamin-K antagonists in children with cancer.

In the United States, the vitamin-K antagonist that is widely used is warfarin (Coumadin). Warfarin is difficult to use in children being treated for cancer due to its numerous drug-drug interactions.

The other problem with vitamin-K antagonists is that they have a long half-life, says Young. If a child with cancer is on a vitamin-K antagonist and needs an unexpected procedure, managing the surgical procedure may be difficult as it takes a long time to reverse this anti-coagulant.

Guy Young, MD, director, Hemostasis and Thrombosis Program, attending physician, Hematology, Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, USC, discusses using vitamin-K antagonists in children with cancer.
 

Dr. Young on Using Vitamin K Antagonists in Children With Cancer

Guy Young, MD, director, Hemostasis and Thrombosis Program, attending physician, Hematology, Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, USC, discusses using anticoagulants in children with cancer.

Using anticoagulants in children with cancer is complicated, partly because of the increased risk of bleeding in this population, much attributed to the nature of childhood—playing sports, going to the park, or riding a bike, says Young.

Additionally, anticoagulants such as warfarin come with their own adverse events.

Articles

Guy Young, MD, director, Hemostasis and Thrombosis Program, attending physician, Hematology, Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, USC, discusses using anticoagulants in children with cancer.
 

Dr. Young Discusses Using Anticoagulants in Children With Cancer

Guy Young, MD, director, Hemostasis and Thrombosis Program, attending physician, Hematology, Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, USC, discusses the occurrence of thromboembolic events in pediatric cancer.

Guy Young, MD

Articles

Dr. Young on the Challenges of Using Anticoagulants in Children With Cancer

Dr. Young on Other Options for Managing Bleeding in Children With Cancer

Dr. Young on Using Vitamin K Antagonists in Children With Cancer

Dr. Young Discusses Using Anticoagulants in Children With Cancer

Dr. Young Discusses Thromboembolic Events in Pediatric Cancer