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Warfarin

Starting treatment
Indications
Dosing and monitoring
Complications
Follow-up
Complications

Life-threatening bleed
  • Give 5 mg vitamin K by slow (5 minute) iv infusion a
  • Give a concentrate of factors II, VII, IX, and X at a dose of 50 units of factor IX per kg body weight c  
  • If no concentrate is available give fresh frozen plasma (~ 1 litre for an adult) d
  • Stop warfarin c

Major bleed (e.g. haematuria or epistaxis)

  • Stop warfarin for 1 or more days c
  • Consider giving 0.5 mg to 2.0 mg vitamin K iv (clinical response takes 4 to 6 hours) c  

INR > 5.0 without haemorrhage

  • Continue warfarin and give 1 to 2 mg of vitamin K orally

Unexpected bleed at therapeutic levels of INR

  • Investigate for underlying malignancy (look for GI and GU especially)

Other complications

  • Warfarin-induced skin necrosis - this is very rare

Expiry date: May 2003
Levels of Evidence used in grading these guides

With thanks to Drs. David Keeling, John Reynolds, David Sackett, Sharon Straus and Alan Townsend 
for use of their anticoagulation guide on which this one is based.

Author   CM   Ball
Reviewer   A   Gallus
CAT Writer   CM   Ball