Managing Patients With Concurrent High Risk for Bleeding and Thromboembolic Events

The number of patients with high bleeding risk (HBR) and high thromboembolic risk (HTR) is increasing. Gastrointestinal bleeding (GIH), acute coronary syndrome (ACS), and pulmonary embolism (PE) are representative conditions due to HBR/HTR. Although these disorders are located at opposite ends of the same disease spectrum, this does not mean a patient with HBR cannot have a concomitant HTR. The clinical manifestation of these two risks mostly results in critically ill patients for whom management means a huge challenge. We have numerous well -structured guidelines about treating GIH, ACS, or PE, but the literature and recommendations about the concomitant onset of these diseases are limited. Expert recommendations suggest an integrative, comprehensive assessment of patient and intervention -related factors to decide on the antithrombotic regimen with the best clinical benefit by assessing thrombotic and bleeding risks. In general, if thrombotic factors predominate, a longer duration, more aggressive antithrombotic regimen should be planned, and if bleeding susceptibility is higher, a shorter duration, de-escalated regimen should be pursued. In this study, we aimed to explore the clinical dilemmas involved by presenting two cases with delicate management.