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How Do Doctors Over or Under Anticoagulate Patients?
Doctors can over-anticoagulate or under-anticoagulate a patient when the anticoagulant is improperly administered, withheld, or discontinued during hospitalization, see image. For example, a doctor may stop an anticoagulant when a bleeding patient enters the hospital, even though the patient takes the drug to prevent atrial fibrillation and brain hemorrhage. Likewise, a doctor may decide not to prescribe an anti-coagulant for a patient even though the patient has a clear indication for the drug. Or a doctor may fail to monitor a patient who takes the medication for signs of excessive bleeding. Finally, a doctor may discontinue an anticoagulant for an injured patient out of concern for the risk of bleeding, even though there is also a high risk of a stroke.
warfarin sodium - Drug Summary
Warfarin can cause major or fatal bleeding. Warfarin is contraindicated in patients with conditions in which therapy with warfarin may result in uncontrolled bleeding including hematological disease; GI bleeding, genitourinary bleeding, respiratory tract bleeding, retinal bleeding, or intracranial bleeding; head trauma; hemorrhagic stroke; aneurysm; aortic dissection; pericarditis or pericardial effusion; bacterial endocarditis; threatened abortion; eclampsia and preeclampsia; recent or planned surgery of the central nervous system, eye, or following trauma that results in large open surfaces; diagnostic or therapeutic procedures with potential for uncontrolled bleeding including epidural anesthesia, spinal anesthesia, spinal puncture and lumbar puncture; and malignant hypertension.
If you have experienced a Medication Error in Wicomico, Worcester, Talbot, and Queen Anne’s County, MD, don’t hesitate to Contact Us