“Blood thinners are very effective at preventing blood clots, but there is more we can do to make these medications safer for patients,”-Dr. Deborah Siegal Hematologist Dr. Deborah Siegal knows that blood thinners save lives by preventing strokes and blood clots in the veins. Unfortunately, these medications come with a risk of bleeding which can be fatal. Dr. Siegal wants to find out how to best manage this risk for certain patient populations. 

For example, she’s looking at best practices for re-starting blood thinners safely after bleeding in the digestive tract. She’s also investigating the treatments and outcomes of patients taking blood thinners who need emergency surgery. In addition, Dr. Siegal recently received a CIHR grant to find out how common blood clots are among patients who have returned home after being hospitalized for COVID-19. Knowing this will help determine how these patients should be managed after discharge. 

She is also leading a national study of over 20,000 ICU patients to see whether using lower-volume tubes to collect blood samples can reduce blood transfusions for anemia, a common side effect of hospitalization.

Dr. Siegal was recently appointed as an associate scientist in the Clinical Epidemiology Program at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. She is a haematologist and thrombosis physician at The Ottawa Hospital and associate professor at the University of Ottawa.

“Blood thinners are very effective at preventing blood clots, but there is more we can do to make these medications safer for patients,” said Dr. Siegal.

The Ottawa Hospital is a leading academic health, research and learning hospital proudly affiliated with the University of Ottawa.