Laboratory aspects of novel oral anticoagulant treatment

The introduction of novel oral anticoagulants (NOAC) have long been expected drugs and they quickly became used widespread as their clinical effectiveness was as good as, or even better than the previously used only oral anticoagulant drug, the coumarins. Thus, the direct thrombin inhibitor dabigatran and the activated factor X inhibitors (rivaroxaban, apixaban, edoxaban) have become the part of daily therapeutic practice. Their permeation was facilitated by the guideline which suggested that no laboratory monitoring was required during NOAC treatment and this was very convenient for both patients and doctors. The clinical experience obtained in the past years, however have proved that the 'one size fits all' view is oversimplified and there are numerous situations when the determination NOAC levels is unavoidable or highly recommended. This review discusses the laboratory aspects of NOAC treatment, primarily summarizing their effect on the screening tests and special assays of hemostasis and we also describe the correct methods to determine their plasma concentrations.