New Thrombosis Program

New pediatric thrombosis program seeks more effective and safer treatment options.

Hackensack Meridian Children’s Health’s Pediatric Thrombosis Program at Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital, led by experts in hematological care, provides a standardized approach for the prevention, evaluation, and treatment of blood clots in children. By creating anticoagulation and diagnostic guidelines, and working collaboratively with other pediatric specialists, our hematology team helps patients across our network receive the most effective treatments, while reducing unnecessary medication or testing. Recognizing pediatric cancer patients are some of the most vulnerable to incur a blood clot, the children’s hospital is currently participating in a trial to test the safety and efficacy of the oral anticoagulant, apixaban, for thromboembolism prevention versus the current standard.

Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital is 1 of only 3 hospitals in New Jersey participating in the study, which will be completed by November 2021. Patients, ages 1 to 17, must be newly diagnosed, receiving chemotherapy, including asparaginase, and have a central line to participate.

Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital is also in the process of joining a national pediatric thrombosis consortium to help identify which pediatric patients, including cancer patients, are at highest risk of thrombosis. New network-wide pediatric thrombosis prophylaxis guidelines will enable prompt and accurate identification of our high-risk patients, thereby decreasing the prevalence of clots in the most vulnerable cancer patients.