Low-intensity warfarin therapy for anticoagulation in atrial fibrillation patients with high risk of hemorrhage: a clinical trial on efficiency and safety
Objective To determine the safety and availability of anticoagulation of low-intensity warfarin therapy in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients with high risk of stroke and bleeding applying stroke risk score (CHA2DS2-VASc) and bleeding risk score (HAS-BLED) (CHA2DS2-VASc≥1 and HAS-BLED≥3) proposed by 2010 European Society of Cardiology Guideline. Methods A total of 99 AF patients who had the stroke risk scoring CHA2DS2-VASc≥1 and HAS-BLED score≥3 admitted in our hospital from January 2011 to January 2012 were selected randomly, and then divided into 2 groups. One group was treated by a standard intensity warfarin therapy of 2.0<International Normalized Ratio (INR)≤3.0, and the other group was given a low-intensity warfarin therapy (1.6≤INR≤2.0). The incidence of stroke and bleeding events of the two groups were compared. Results Chi-square test indicated that there was no statistical difference in the incidence of stroke and bleeding between these 2 groups (P>0.05). The incidence of bleeding was significantly higher in standard-intensity Warfarin group than in low-intensity Warfarin group (P<0.05). Conclusion AF patients with high bleeding risk (CHA2DS2-VASc≥1 and HAS-BLED score≥3) should be treated by low-intensity warfarin anticoagulation. The therapy is safe and reliable, with advantages of suppressing thrombosis and embolism events and not increasing serious hemorrhage.