Protein C deficiency

While we cannot make recommendations for your medical care and recommend you discuss any concerns regarding medication use with your physician, we have found the following resources we hope you find helpful. 

The listed uses of Pradaxa (dabigatran) currently include: treatment of thromboembolism (such as deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism), prevention of recurrent thromboembolism in patients who have had a previous event, and prevention of strokes or serious blood clots in people who have atrial fibrillation.^[1]

More information on Pradaxa can be found at the following link from MedlinePlus, the National Library of Medicine Web site designed to help you research your health questions. http://reference.medscape.com/drug/pradaxa-dabigatran-342135#0

While there are limited studies available regarding the use of Pradaxa in individuals who have protein C deficiency, we identified one case report described in the medical literature that you might find helpful. Case reports document clinical findings associated with individual cases. It is important to keep in mind that the clinical findings documented in these case reports are based on specific individuals and may differ from one affected person to another. In this case report, an individual with protein C deficiency was prescribed Pradaxa as an alternative medication to Warfarin to alleviate medication associated side effects. The authors report that the patient had no new episodes of superficial or deep vein thrombosis after six months of therapy.^[2]

We additionally located an abstract for a study comparing the use of Pradaxa to Warfarin. The study population included both patients with a history of thrombophilia (either congenital or acquired) and without. A small subset of the studied population had either protein S or protein C deficiency. The researchers found a similar frequency of thrombotic events in patients taking both medications. They did not find a difference in treatment efficacy in the population with thrombophilia.^[3] 

In reviewing both studies, it is important to note that Coumadin is the brand name for Warfarin.