Anticoagulation Quality and Complications of using Vitamin K Antagonists in the Cardiac Surgery Outpatient Clinic (original) (raw)

Brazilian journal of cardiovascular surgery

In patients with mechanical prosthetic heart valves or atrial fibrillation requiring anticoagulation to prevent thromboembolic events, several factors influence adherence and anticoagulation complications. To evaluate the factors that interfere with the quality and complications of anticoagulation with vitamin K antagonists. A retrospective cohort study of 100 patients, in the period from 2011 to 2014, was performed. Anticoagulation conditions in the last year, regarding the presence of complications (embolisms/bleeding) and inadequate treatment were assessed: achievement of less than 8 annual prothrombin times and International Normalized Ratio outside therapeutic target in more than 40% of prothrombin times. There were 31 complications (22 minor bleeding without hospitalization and 9 major complications: 7 bleeding with hospitalization and two emboli); 70 were with International Normalized Ratio outside the target in more than 40% of the tests and 36 with insufficient number of pr...