Warfarin Patient Self-Monitoring

• Status: Completed
• Trial end date: 2010-03-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

Atrial Fibrillation is a heart condition in which people are treated with blood thinners such as warfarin to decrease the risk of stroke. Large studies have shown that when patients adjust their own dose of warfarin, similar to insulin, results are better.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether implementing this method of warfarin management is beneficial in a Canadian primary care clinic. Patients will be educated on how to adjust their own warfarin doses when necessary using simple charts. The success of patient self management will be compared against management by a physician.

• Phase: N/A
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Details

• Lead Sponsor: University of British Columbia
• Treatments: Warfarin

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Over 18 years of age

• Anticoagulation to a target of 2.0-3.0

• Warfarin treatment for > 3 months

• previous medication treatment adherence

• competence judged by demonstrable ability to utilize drug adjustment nomograms

• understand the basic theory of anticoagulation therapy

Exclusion Criteria:

• Coagulopathic disease

• significant psychiatric illness

• significant language barrier

• poor visual acuity