Long-Term Anticoagulant Therapy

As experience in the use of anticoagulant drugs accumulates, analysis of the incidence of complications is necessary to assess the risk of outpatient therapy. The records of all outpatients at the Henry Ford Hospital treated with long-term anticoagulants from August, 1961, to August, 1962, were reviewed. Complications and control were studied for this period in all 978 patients, though 808 had received treatment for over one year. All patients were treated for at least three months. Fifteen patients (1.5%) experienced major hemorrhage, and 218 patients (22%) reported minor bleeding not necessitating hospital care. No significant correlation was observed between prothrombin level and major complications. Fifty-five deaths occurred during the period of study, and in four of these patients, anticoagulants may have been a contributing factor. The findings clearly indicate that with adequate precautions, long-term outpatient anticoagulant therapy is practical and safe.