Errors due to anticoagulants are more likely to cause permanent disability (32%) than other mistakes. Studies based on medical record reviews show that around 11% of drug complications in hospitalised patients result from anticoagulant therapy. Warfarin is renowned for its rate of complications and is a common cause of illness and death. Vitamin K is therefore a good, easy antidote for patients whose blood is too thin. This results in Vitamin K and warfarin working against each other.
Warfarin reduces your body’s ability to use vitamin K to make these clotting factors. In order to make these clotting factors, the body needs vitamin K, which you can get from many foods including leafy green vegetables. Richard Brunton/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND How it worksīlood clots are formed in the body through a complex process that uses substances called clotting factors. The dose of warfarin differs with each patient, as their characteristics vary. The blood tests to monitor the use of warfarin (called the International Normalised Ratio or INR) cost the government A$22.52 each, which amounts to more than A$100 million a year. In 2001, the cost of subsidising warfarin totalled A$8.3 million.
Consumers pay A$9-12 (or around A$5.20 for concession card holders). Warfarin is covered by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Schedule, which means the government subsidises the cost. To prevent this, doctors routinely monitor patients on warfarin via frequent blood tests (at least monthly) and adjust their dose according to the action required. Serious problems can occur when blood is too thin or too thick. While some patients require no more than 0.5mg of warfarin per day, others may need 30mg or more per day for effective anticoagulation. Warfarin is administered once daily and must be taken at around the same time each day in order to eliminate fluctuations of drug concentration in the body. Doctors recommend patients use the same brand of warfarin to reduce any confusion that could occur due the different coloured tablets and their respective doses. These are not interchangeable, as the tablets are provided in different strengths and colours. In Australia, warfarin is only available in two commercial preparations: Coumadin® and Marevan®. It is still used for this purpose today.ĭespite its evolution, patients are all too aware of and concerned about warfarin’s origins. Prior to its clinical application in the early 1950s, warfarin was used as a pesticide to kill rats and mice. Today warfarin is one of the most widely prescribed oral anticoagulant drugs with around 1-2% of adults in the developed world prescribed the medication. In 1954, warfarin was approved for clinical use and has remained a popular anticoagulant ever since.
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