Pharmacological Agents

Pharmacological methods are the most widely used form of thromboprophylaxis (Chen & Wang 2013). Pharmacological prophylaxis aims to inhibit the formation of the clot itself, or to prevent the progress of the coagulation cascade which ultimately leads to venous thrombi (Tai et al. 2013). Antithrombotic prophylaxis is given to individuals with acute SCI in an effort to lower the coagulability of the blood by maintaining the concentration of factor Xa, a key factor in the coagulation cascade, below the critical level. High levels of factor Xa result in thrombus formation, leading to thromboembolic complications such as excessive bleeding (Kulkarni et al. 1992).