LABORATORY MONITORING OF WARFARIN THERAPY IN UTAH

Accurate laboratory monitoring of oral anticoagulation has been emphas ized as an important factor in providing safe and effective therapy fo r patients with thromboembolism. However, recent reports indicate that coagulation laboratories may not be providing optimal clinical inform ation to clinicians who treat these patients. We surveyed all hospital coagulation laboratories in Utah to determine their format for report ing prothrombin time results in patients receiving oral anticoagulants . We found that less than 50% of laboratories used the reliable report ing format, i.e., the Interational Normalized Ratio (INR), and that ma ny of the laboratories using the INR format may be reporting incorrect values. Our survey also found a significant lack of interest by physi cians in requesting that their laboratories adopt reliable reporting m ethods. These results indicate a substantial lack of understanding by laboratories and clinicians of the importance of using reliable method s to monitor oral anticoagulation. Significant educational efforts wil l be required to correct this problem. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.