Investigation Into the Therapeutic Dosage of Fondaparinux Sodium, a Medication Used to Prevent Blood Clots in Morbidly Obese Volunteers

Bariatric surgery carries a mortality rate of 0.5-1%, with PE found to be the most frequent postoperative complications and causes of death. Currently employed prophylactic methods include unfractionated or low molecular weight heparins in combination with mechanical calf compression. However, despite the implementation of these standard measures, the reported incidence of fatal PE has ranged from 0.2 to 0.64% accounting for between 30 to 50% of deaths after bariatric surgery.

With a reported 40,000 bariatric surgical procedures in 2001, and the numbers growing rapidly every year, there is clearly a need for a more effective prophylaxis from DVT and PE. The pentasaccharide fondaparinux is an anti-thrombotic agent used in the prophylaxis of venous thromboembolism after orthopedic or abdominal surgery. Its clinical value has been established in multiple randomized double blind studies in high-risk major orthopedic surgery where it showed a 55% greater reduction in DVT episodes compared to enoxaparin (Lovenox®) Although fondaparinux has been administered in obese patients in clinical studies for prevention of venous thromboembolism after orthopedic surgery and preliminary results show no influence of ABW on the clinical outcome, the pharmacokinetic properties of the drug in the morbidly obese have not been investigated. Previously published fondaparinux pharmacokinetic studies excluded patients whose body weight was more than 30% of ideal, with the heaviest group being 77.2+/-10.1 Kg and with a BMI of 25.7+/2.6 Kg/m2. Similar studies on low molecular weight heparins, such as enoxaparin and dalteparin, showed predictable anti-Xa activity with weight-based dosing in the morbidly obese.

There has been no study on the pharmacokinetics of this drug in the morbidly obese (BMI>35 Kg/m2). It is clinically imperative to have a predictable anti-Xa level and a predictable DVT prophylactic effect in the morbidly obese whose body weight may vary by as much as 3 to 4 fold higher compared to the average 70 Kg adult. This has become a critical issue in view of the large number of bariatric surgical operations being undertaken, which has increased 150% in the last two years.

The purpose of this study is to assess the pharmacokinetic properties of fondaparinux in morbidly obese volunteers. This is a prospective crossover, randomized study with a 2-week washout period comparing two dosing regimens of fondaparinux in morbidly obese volunteers.