New anticoagulant and antiplatelet medications have been approved and are 
prescribed with increased frequency. Intracranial hemorrhage is associated with 
the use of these medications. Therefore, neurosurgeons need to be aware of these 
new medications, how they are different from their predecessors, and the 
strategies for the urgent reversal of their effects. Utilization of intraluminal 
stents by endovascular neurosurgeons has resulted in the need to have a thorough 
understanding of antiplatelet agents. Increased use of dabigatran, rivaroxaban, 
and apixaban as oral anticoagulants for the treatment of atrial fibrillation and 
acute deep venous thrombosis has increased despite the lack of known antidotes 
to these medications.