title: [Perioperative control of vitamin K antagonists in elective surgery].
abstract: Anti-coagulated patients who undergo elective surgery require temporary interruption of vitamin K antagonists. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of thromboembolic events and bleeding complications in anti-coagulated patients undergoing elective invasive procedures by using an institutional management protocol. This was a descriptive study with prospective follow-up that included patients over 18 year old anti-coagulated with vitamin K antagonists, undergoing elective surgery. Those with atrial fibrillation (AF) at moderate and high risk of thromboembolic events, with mechanical heart valve (MCV) at moderate and high risk of thromboembolic events, and patients' venous thromboembolism (VTE) at high risk of thromboembolic events received bridging therapy with enoxaparin. Embolic and bleeding events in the pre-operative period were recorded. Seventy-eight received bridging, mean age 69.4 ± 11.9 years. Twenty-eight had AF (36.4 %), 12 had VTE (15.6 %) and 37 had MCV (48.1 %). Postoperatively, 1 embolic event (1.6 %) and 12 bleeding events (15.4 %) were documented, of which 10 were minor (12.8 %) and 2 major (2.6 %). The safety of bridging therapy is still under debate, and we should await the result of randomized studies comparing different strategies of bridging vs. interruption of anticoagulant therapy in the pre-operative period prior to reaching a definitive conclusion.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Clínica Médica, Hospital Privado Centro Médico de Córdoba, Argentina. E-mail: joserevigliono@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: José I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Revigliono
authors.forename: Teresita
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cornavaca
authors.forename: Florencia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Becerra
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Albertini
authors.forename: Alejandro E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Contreras
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tabares
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000601:surgery; D017558:Elective Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D017984:Enoxaparin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019990:Perioperative Care / Q000379:methods*; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013923:Thromboembolism / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D014812:Vitamin K / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants; D017984:Enoxaparin; D014812:Vitamin K
keywords: atrial fibrillation; deep venous thrombosis; elective surgery; mechanical heart valve