Loading...
Bridging anticoagulation refers to the provision of short-term heparin therapy for patients whose long-term warfarin therapy requires interruption before invasive procedures. This approach is justified if considerable risk exists for thrombotic events to occur during the interval when warfarin is withheld; periprocedural heparin doses can be adjusted to provide thrombus prevention with low risk for bleeding. How often these twin objectives are met in community practice is unclear.
Investigators performed an observational study of more than 1000 outpatients who required interruption of long-term anticoagulation to accommodate imminent invasive procedures. These patients were being managed by community-based physicians at more than 100 sites. …