Summary
Low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWHs) accumulate in patients with impaired renal function.
As this accumulation depends on heparin chain length and subsequent reticulo-endothelial/renal
elimination, LMWHs might have different pharmacodynamic profiles. The primary objective
was to examine if any accumulation effect of two LMWHs, enoxaparin and tinzaparin,
occurred after repeated administration of a prophylactic dose over eight days in elderly
patients (age >75 years) with creatinine clearance between 20 and 50 ml/min and body
weight <65Kg. Patients were openly randomized to two groups (enoxaparin 4,000 IU or
tinzaparin 4,500 IU once daily). Anti-Xa was measured on day 1 and day 8. Blood samples
were taken at 0, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 12, 16 and 24 hours. The primary end point was the
accumulation factor calculated as a ratio between the maximal anti-Xa activity on
day 1and day 8. Fifty-five patients were included (mean age 87.9 ± 5.5 ).The creatinine
clearance was 34.7 ± 11.4 ml/min; the body weight was 52.3 ± 8.6 kg. The accumulation
factor defined was not significant for tinzaparin (1.05, p=0.29) while it was significantly
enhanced for enoxaparin (1.22, p <0.0001). In this pharmacodynamic study performed
in elderly patients with impaired renal function, a statistically significant accumulation
effect was observed after eight days of prophylactic treatment with enoxaparin but
not with tinzaparin, which are two LMWHs with different chain lengths. Trials based
on clinical end points should be conducted to evaluate the clinical relevance of these
observations.
Keywords
LMWHs - thromboprophylaxis - elderly - renal insufficiency