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- Saturday, February 4, 2006
- Drug Interactions and Risk of Bleeding among Patients with Atrial Fibrillation (AF) Discharged with Warfarin.
- Published at:Not Found
Drug Interactions and Risk of Bleeding among Patients with Atrial
Fibrillation (AF) Discharged with Warfarin
Waleed Sweileh, Nidal Jaradat, Moueen Elawee, Asaad Al-Shakhsheer,
Ansam Sawalha, Rawa Al-Ramahi, & Abed Al-Naser Zaid.
Faculty of Pharmacy, An-Najah University, Nablus, Palestine
E-mail: [email protected]
Received: (25/7/2005), Accepted: (5/9/2006)
Abstract
The objective of this study was to examine and evaluate the frequency of
bleeding and serious drug interactions among patients with atrial fibrillation
(AF) treated with oral anticoagulant [Warfarin]. A random sample of 59
patients from Al-Watni government hospital in Nablus with a principal or
secondary discharge diagnosis of AF was identified. All drug and clinical data
were abstracted from the patient\'s files. We excluded patients who were less
than 65 years of age, or left the hospital against medical advice, and those
whose AF was transient or could not be confirmed. Of the original 59 AF
patients, 19 were cliagnosed who were discharged on Warfarin. The mean age
for these patients was 71.7 years. Among the patients discharged on Warfarin,
94.7 % had one or more drug – drug interactions that could lead to increase risk
of bleeding. Many patients discharged on Warfarin were having multiple
interacting drugs. Patient counseling and follow-up monitoring are essential and
should be carried out to minimize the risk of bleeding and other complications.
Key Words:
atrial fibrillation, warfarin, drug interactions, bleeding, stroke,
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