For acute care physicians , the current approach and disease indications for treatment with anticoagulants are particularly relevant. When a patient treated with anticoagulants presents to the emergency department, intensive care unit, or operating room with severe, uncontrolled bleeding, the achievement of rapid controlled hemostasis is extremely important to saving the patient’s life.

Detailed discussion regarding the current treatment of critically-ill or critically-injured patients with life-threatening bleeding that present to the ED or critical care unit.

Management of severe bleeding in patients taking oral anticoagulants is complicated. Acute care physicians must be knowledgeable about the individual oral anticoagulant agents, the general management of anticoagulant-associated bleeding, and the strategies for effective use of factor repletion and specific reversal agents.

Expert specialists from Emergency Cardiovascular and Neurovascular Care, Pre-hospital Emergency Medical Services, Emergency Medicine Operations, Nephrology, Hospital Medicine, Neurocritical Care, Cardiology, Medical Critical Care, and Trauma and Surgical Critical Care discuss the implications of managing hyperkalemia in their field with patients in the Emergency Department, Critical Care Units, and the Cardiology Clinic.

For emergency physicians, critical care physicians, hospitalists, cardiologists, internists, surgeons, and family physicians, the current approach and disease indications for treatment with anticoagulants such as coumadin, Factor IIa, and Factor Xa inhibitors are particularly relevant. When a patient treated with anticoagulants presents to the Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit, or Operating Room with severe, uncontrollable bleeding, achieving rapid, controlled hemostasis is critically important to saving the patient’s life.