Measurement of dabigatran plasma concentration
A total of 3 ml of peripheral blood was collected from each patient, and those collected 12 hours after the previous dose were considered at the trough plasma level of dabigatran, while those obtained 2 hours after the dose were considered at the peak level. Blood samples containing dabigatran were obtained from whole blood by centrifugation at 3000 rpm at 4 °C for 5 min and stored at -80 °C for further detection. The plasma concentration of DE was detected by UPLC–MS/MS as described previously14.