DeLoughery, Thomas G. Anticoagulation considerations for travel to high altitude. High Alt Med Biol 16:181-185, 2015.-An increasing percentage of the population are on anticoagulation medicine for clinical reasons ranging from stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation to long term prevention of deep venous thrombosis. In recent years, several new direct oral anticoagulants have entered the market. The key questions that should be kept in mind when approaching a potential traveler on anticoagulation are: 1) why is the patient on anticoagulation? 2) do they need to stay on anticoagulation? 3) what are the choices for their anticoagulation? 4) will there be any drug interactions with medications needed for travel? and 5) how will they monitor their anticoagulation while traveling? Knowing the answers to these questions then can allow for proper counseling and planning for the anticoagulated traveler's trip.
Keywords: anticoagulation; apixaban; dabigatran; deep venous thrombosis; edoxaban; rivaroxaban; warfarin.