Researchers belonging to the Oxford University in England have revealed that if patients who are undergoing medication were to manage their own treatment and taught to scale down the risk of blood clots, as many as 2,600 deaths could be avoided. Those patients who change the doses of warfarin, also known as Coumadin, according to the thickness of their blood run the risk of dying within two years, which can be reduced by about 40%, when in comparison to those who are being monitored by medical practitioners.
The chances of blood clots are reduced by 55% in the case of patients who manage their own treatment, while incidents of major hemorrhage risks are reduced by 35%. Warfarin is taken by about a million people who are elderly and run the risk of a stroke which is connected to atrial fibrillation. Those who run the risk of pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis also take Warfarin.There is a 15% increase in the number of people who consume the drug annually. As many as 33% of these patients can be tutored to manage their treatment, which could result in large cost savings where the NHS is concerned. The anti-coagulation therapy’s quality can be improved as a result of self-monitoring.
The reaction of the patients to the treatment should however be tested on a regular basis. Blood-thinners are known to interact with alcohol and antibiotics, which makes monitoring all the more important. In the initial stages, monitoring may have to be done everyday.
