Emergency department admissions and hemorrhage risk in patients on warfarin-containing drugs: a retrospective study

Aim: Warfarin-containing medications are commonly prescribed anticoagulants for preventing and treating arterial and venous thromboembolism. As such, it may present a risk of hemorrhage. In this study, we aimed to investigate the occurrence of hemorrhage associated with warfarin, along with the contributing factors, by analyzing data obtained from emergency requests. Methods: Patients who presented to the emergency department within one year and requested an INR analysis have been included. Among these patients, the demographic characteristics and risk factors of patients using warfarin and having signs of hemorrhage and those with increased INR levels and hemorrhage symptoms without using warfarin were studied retrospectively. Results: Two hundred and seventy-three patients were included in the study. Two hundred and eleven patients (76.9%) were taking warfarin, 94.8% of whom had initiated the drug for cardiac reasons. INR value below 2.5 were found in 39.3% of these patients. Only 8.1% were identified with hemorrhage. Conclusion: Warfarin poses a significant challengefor clinicians and patients due to its associated risk of hemorrhage. In this study, the risk of major hemorrhage was generally low.