Journal of Hematology & Thromboembolic Diseases
Open Access
ISSN: 2329-8790
+44 1478 350008
ISSN: 2329-8790
+44 1478 350008
Review Article
Warfarin Therapy: New Challenges of an Old Drug
Author(s): Andre Rodrigues Duraes, Ricardo Duraes-Carvalho, Juliana Queiroz Vasconcelos Muniz, Andre Mauricio Souza Fernandes, Pollianna de Souza Roriz and Roque ArasAndre Rodrigues Duraes, Ricardo Duraes-Carvalho, Juliana Queiroz Vasconcelos Muniz, Andre Mauricio Souza Fernandes, Pollianna de Souza Roriz and Roque Aras
The anticoagulant drug warfarin is a vitamin K antagonist (VKA), coumarin derivative, formed by the racemic mixture of two optically active isomers known by Rectus (R) and Sinister (S) enantiomers in equal proportion, being the S-warfarin five times more potent. Although warfarin is still considered the mainstay of oral anticoagulant treatment, it is a difficult drug to manage due to its narrow therapeutic index. An inappropriate management of patients can lead to subtherapeutic or supratherapeutic levels, increasing the risk of thromboembolic episodes or hemorrhagic episodes, respectively. Common indications for the use of warfarin include stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation, preventing thrombus formation in patients with heart valves and treatment of venous thromboembolism. Unlike situations as nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (and thromboembolic risk factors such as hypertensio.. View More»
DOI:
10.4172/2329-8790.1000207