Why the study?
While guidelines exist for managing elevated INR in patients on warfarin, the treatment for warfarin overdose in these patients is yet to be standardized.
Does prophylactic continuous vitamin K2 infusion prevent severe coagulopathy in acute warfarin overdose?
Does prophylactic continuous vitamin K2 infusion prevent severe coagulopathy in acute warfarin overdose?
Prophylactic continuous vitamin K2 infusion before INR elevation may be a practical and effective approach to prevent severe coagulopathy in acute warfarin overdose.
Serial INR monitoring remains essential after massive warfarin ingestion; leaves open standardization of overdose protocols.
Background: Warfarin, a vitamin K antagonist, is widely used for preventing and treating thromboembolic diseases. While guidelines exist for managing elevated prothrombin time-international normalized ratio (INR) in patients on warfarin, the treatment for warfarin overdose in these patients is yet to be standardized. Case Presentation: A 41-year-old woman ingested 230 mg of warfarin with suicidal intent, along with other medications. Initially unconscious, her INR was 1.0, and laboratory results were normal. Prophylactic continuous menaquinone-4, vitamin K2, injections were administered before the INR increased. After stopping vitamin K2 72 h later, her INR rose to 1.8, but she recovered without severe coagulopathy or bleeding, despite a high initial warfarin concentration. Conclusion: This is the first case of warfarin overdose managed with prophylactic vitamin K2 injections before INR elevation, successfully preventing severe complications. Prophylactic vitamin K infusion may be a practical approach for warfarin overdose treatment in non-dependent patients.
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Omoto et al. (2025) studied this question.
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