Abstract

ALVARADO ARTEAGA, Iván Mauricio. Current trends in the preoperative management of patients receiving warfarin for anticoagulation. Rev. colomb. anestesiol. [online]. 2012, vol.40, n.1, pp.52-59. ISSN 0120-3347.  https://doi.org/10.1016/S0120-3347(12)70010-2.

Introduction: The perioperative management of patients receiving chronic treatment with warfarin and scheduled for invasive, elective or emergency procedures is a difficult and frequently arising problem in clinical practice. The lack of clear management guidelines and the indiscriminate use of the temporary replacement with unfractionated heparin creates delays, increases costs and unnecessarily prolongs the length of hospital stay. Objectives: To review current trends and their supporting evidence of temporary replacement ("bridging") during the pre-operative period, emphasizing the use of low-molecular-weight heparins on an outpatient basis. Methodology: PubMed search of evidence-based management guidelines, expert consensus and original trials. Results: Three evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, together with multiple narrative expert reviews, four of them recently published, were identified. Clinical trials found in the surgical setting were purely observational. Although there are comparative studies, none of them apply to the surgical setting. Discussion: Management evidence is limited and expert consensus guidelines are inconsistent. Conclusions: There is suggestive, though non-conclusive evidence supporting the use of low-molecular-weight heparins for temporary replacement ("bridging") of pre-operative anticoagulation on an outpatient basis. There is a need to conduct well-designed comparative studies in the perioperative setting. Guidelines for anticoagulation management in elective and emergency cases are proposed on the basis of the information available, expressed in the form of a simple and innovative graphic algorithm applicable to the Colombian situation.

Keywords : Perioperative period; Anticoagulants; Heparin; Thrombosis.

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