Dabigatran, electrical cardioversion and measuring the aPTT. A safety measure or an unnecessary assessment?

Abstract

We present two case reports of patients treated with dabigatran for stroke prevention. Both have non-valvular atrial fibrillation and both were scheduled for direct current electrical cardioversion (DCCV). Both had their activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) measured prior to their DCCV to assess the anticoagulant activity of dabigatran. The decision to measure the aPTT resulted in differing levels to otherwise straightforward cases.