title: Major bleeding complications in a specialized anticoagulation service.
abstract: Major bleeding complications were investigated in 2,460 patients with 3,684 patient-years of warfarin exposure from 2000 to 2003. The most common indications for anticoagulation were atrial fibrillation (30%), venous thromboembolic disease (28%), and mechanical heart valve prosthesis (15%). Eleven patients had 12 nonfatal major bleeding complications, with no fatal bleeds during the study. The incidence of major bleeding complications was 0.12%/year; there were 0.32 bleeds/100 patient-years of coverage. Of the 12 bleeding events, 5 (42%) were intracranial hemorrhages. The average hospitalization cost per patient was dollar 15,988, and the average length of hospitalization was 6.0 days.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fanikos
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Grasso-Correnti
authors.forename: Ravi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: Nils
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kucher
authors.forename: Samuel Z
authors.initials: SZ
authors.lastname: Goldhaber
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000188:drug therapy; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology; D017721:Hospital Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D006748:Hospital Departments / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D020246:Venous Thrombosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D014859:Warfarin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants; D014859:Warfarin