Publication:

Cross sectional study on different doses of acenocoumarol with INR in a tertiary care hospital

Background It is of high value to be assess the relationship between doses of Acenocoumarol and the INR values to offer better patient care. Since Acenocoumarol is a commonly used drug with a narrow therapeutic range it is essential to monitor the variations encountered in response to it to avoid drastic complications and to provide better health care.

Aim The aim of this study is to compare the INR values with different doses of Acenocoumarol, to compare the association of dose of Acenocoumarol with their respective INR and to find out the occurrence of bleeding with different doses of Acenocoumarol.

Methods The study was conducted in a Tertiary care hospital. 40 patients taking Acenocoumarol were recruited in the study. Relevant details like age, weight, dose of Acenocoumarol, INR and other concomitant drugs were obtained in a prospective manner. Correlation of dose of Acenocoumarol with respective INR was done by simple linear regression.

Results The relationship between dose and INR was analyzed using Simple linear regression and the scatter plot revealed no significant correlation between the dose and INR values. There is a lot of inter-individual variability in the dose response and thereafter the INR values.

Conclusions The dose of Acenocoumarol cannot predict INR values. Patient can ideally be started treatment on a low dose of Acenocoumarol and based on the INR values, dose can be titrated. There is a need for consideration of other factors which influence the dose and INR values.