Abstract

TABOADA, Lucía Beatriz; SILVA, Luis Eduardo  and  MONTENEGRO, Ana Cristina. Benefits of anticoagulation clinic. Acta Med Colomb [online]. 2013, vol.38, n.4, pp.239-243. ISSN 0120-2448.

Abstract Introduction: the benefits of anticoagulant therapy with warfarin in various pathologies are evident; however, this requires careful monitoring to avoid complications. Anticoagulation clinics have shown to improve the quality of control by increasing the time in therapeutic range, among other benefits. Objective: the population served and the quality of anticoagulation obtained in the University Hospital Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá since its creation, is described. Materials and methods: we performed a retrospective study, and included all patients served by the clinic since its creation. We described demographic characteristics , quality of anticoagulation as measured by time in therapeutic range, and the occurrence of complications. Results: 159 patients were included; the average age was 61.5 years and venous thromboembolism was the most frequent indication. The time in the therapeutic range was 53.7 % with a range of 2-3 and 67.2% with a range 1.8 to 3.2. Percentage of high-risk INRs was 7.1% for INR < 1.5 and 7.4% for INR > 4. The rate of major bleeding was 1.1% and of thrombotic events 2.2% in 100 patient-years. Conclusions: this study is consistent with the reported in the literature, and despite a better control with anticoagulation clinics, patients spend a considerable amount of time with INRs out of range. Comparative studies are lacking to evaluate the cost -effectiveness of routine implementation of clinics in the country. (Acta Med Colomb 2013; 38: 239-243).

Keywords : anticoagulants; warfarin; International Normalized Ratio (INR); bleeding; thromboembolism.

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