Warfarin anticoagulation effect is characterized by marked variability, some of which has been attributed to CYP2C9 polymorphisms. This study prospectively examines whether a priori knowledge of CYP2C9 genotype may improve warfarin therapy. Patients were randomly assigned to receive warfarin by a validated algorithm ("control", 96 patients) or CYP2C9 genotype-adjusted algorithms ("study", 95 pa...

Compartment syndrome of the thigh is a rare occurrence potentially leading to devastating functional restrictions. There is a wide spectrum of reported conditions leading to increased tissue pressure in the thigh possibly resulting in a compartment syndrome, ranging from deep venous thrombosis to blunt injuries and femoral fractures. We report a case of a delayed development of a compartment sy...

Perioperative management of patients treated with the non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants is an ongoing challenge. Due to the lack of good clinical studies involving adequate monitoring and reversal therapies, management requires knowledge and understanding of pharmacokinetics, renal function, drug interactions, and evaluation of the surgical bleeding risk. Consideration of the benefit...

• Vol 8 • November 2006 Anticoagulants in Secondary Prevention of Stroke Anticoagulation therapy has been common practice for a long time, based on the assumption that anticoagulation medication is more effective than anti-aggregation therapy even though it was known to be more dangerous. This trend among most treating physicians was reinforced by the many cases of failure of anti-aggregation t...

Little is known about the pathophysiology of intracerebral haemorrhage that occurs during anticoagulant treatment. In observational studies, investigators have reported larger haematoma volumes and worse functional outcome in these patients than in those with intracerebral haemorrhage and a normal coagulation status. The need to prevent extensive haematoma enlargement by rapid reversal of the a...

AIMS The study aims to evaluate the impact of genetic, demographic and clinical data on various measures of outcome of anticoagulation quality in patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS The study consisted of 310 patients receiving long-term oral anticoagulation therapy in our hospital. Apart from demographic and clinical variables, 21 SNPs (in 7 genes) were analyzed and compared with the outcomes of ...

To the Editor: In their recent article, Eckman and colleagues highlight a difficult clinical decision: whether it is safe to restart anticoagulation for atrial fibrillation after intracerebral hemorrhage, and they cite the lack of published data addressing the issue.1 We agree that decisions must be made based on the relative risks versus benefits in individual patients, which will vary dependi...

BACKGROUND Treatment of non-malignant portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in patients with cirrhosis has been neglected in the past because of the fear of bleeding complications when using anticoagulation and due to the technical difficulties associated with the implantation of the transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS). However, PVT has a negative impact on outcome and compromises liver...