Within each patient treated with vitamin K antagonist (VKA), variation of the international normalised ratio (INR) occurs over the treatment period. The purpose of the present study was to assess INR variation in selected patients on long-term treatment in whom the dose of VKA was not changed. This type of variation is considered as "biological variation" which is caused by many factors but not...

Prothrombin time (PT) is the leading test for monitoring oral anticoagulation therapy (OAT). According to the World Health Organization recommendation, International Normalized Ratio (INR) results obtained from the same patient samples with the major PT methods (Quick and Owren) should be the same when the therapeutic range is the same. In our study blood samples were obtained from 207 OAT pati...

Objective: To evaluate the accuracy and precision of INR determination of CoaguCheck XS compared to the standard laboratory method among patients with long-term warfarin therapy. Methods: 39 patients receiving long-term warfarin were eligible in this study. Parallel INR measurements were performed. Capillary INR (INR_C) measurements were determined with CoaguCheck XS and venous INR (INR_V) were...

BACKGROUND Lack of adherence to international normalised ratio (INR) monitoring in rheumatic heart disease (RHD) patients is a contributor to cardio-embolic complications. This population-based observational study investigated whether the distance between home and an INR clinic affects the maintenance of therapeutic INR in RHD patients on warfarin. METHODS Residential addresses, INR clinics, ...

INTRODUCTION Prothrombin Complex Concentrate (PCC) is a key treatment in the management of bleeding related to Vitamin K antagonists (VKA). This study aimed to evaluate prospectively PCC use in patients with VKA-related bleeding in view of the French guidelines published in 2008. METHODS All consecutive patients with VKA-related bleeding treated with a 4-factor PCC (Octaplex®) were selected i...

OBJECTIVE To estimate direct medical costs of diarrheal hospitalization of children <5 years admitted in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) or high dependency unit (HDU). METHODS Analysis of medical records and hospital bills of 84 children during two time frames, 2005-08 and 2012-14. RESULTS Direct medical costs in PICU increased from INR 17,941 to INR 50,663 per child for rotavirus diar...

We determined whether international normalized ratio (INR) monitoring at 6 weeks rather than 4 weeks would benefit patients and reduce costs. Patients receiving stable oral anticoagulation treatment (target INR, 3.0) with a prosthetic mechanical heart valve for more than 6 months were randomized for a maximum interval between INR determinations of 6 weeks (group 1, n = 59) or 4 weeks (group 2 [...

PURPOSE Although warfarin is an effective oral anticoagulation (OAC) drug to reduce the risk of thromboembolism in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF), long term follow-up data are scarce to be certain whether the target INR level is maintained in warfarin-treated patients in Korea. The aim of this study was to evaluate how well INRs are maintained within the target range usin...