PROTAMINE NEUTRALIZATION OF INTRAVENOUS AND SUBCUTANEOUS LOW-MOLECULAR-WEIGHT HEPARIN (TINZAPARIN, LOGIPARIN(TM)) - AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION IN HEALTHY-VOLUNTEERS

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether tinzaparin sodium (a low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH)) was fully and permanently neutralized in vivo in man by protamine sulphate (PS) after intravenous (i.v.) or subcutaneous (s.c.) injection. Fifty healthy adults equally divided in five age- and sex-matched groups were included. The groups received 50 IU unfractionated heparin (UH)/kg body weight (b.w.) i.v., 50 anti-factor Xa (anti-Xa) IU tinzaparin/kg b.w. i.v., 75 anti-Xa IU tinzaparin/kg b.w. s.c., 175 anti-Xa IU tinzaparin/kg b.w. s.c., or 1 ml of saline s.c. PS was given as a 10 min infusion in a dose of 1 mg/100 IU of heparin in the four first groups while 0.5 mg PS/kg b.w. was given in the placebo group. In the i.v. groups PS was administered 45 min after the heparin injection, and in the s.c. groups 180 min post-heparin injection. In the UH group PS fully and permanently neutralized all three activities. In the i.v. tinzaparin group PS reversed 80% of the anti-Xa activity, while the anti-IIa and aPTT activities were fully reversed. A slight, but statistically significant, increase in anti-Xa and anti-IIa activities were seen following i.v. tinzaparin. In the s.c. groups 60-65% of the observed peak anti-Xa activity was neutralized, anti-IIa was almost completely reversed, and aPTT returned nearly to baseline values. A gradual return of the anti-Xa activity (65-75%), anti-IIa activity (55%) and aPTT activity (35-45%) was seen in the s.c. groups 3 h after reversal compared with the observed peak values. A continuous absorption of tinzaparin from the s.c. depot is presumably the cause of the returned activity. PS caused an 8-27% transient drop in the platelet count in all groups. This study confirms that the anti-Xa activity following i.v. and s.c. administration of tinzaparin (a LMWH) is only partially neutralizable by protamine. This is not due to insufficient dosages of the antidote, as an excess of protamine could be demonstrated ex vivo immediately after the protamine infusion. The present results suggest that protamine neutralization of tinzaparin given s.c. should be obtained with intermittent injections or continuous infusion.