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Semin Thromb Hemost 1999; 25(1): 109-115
DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-996433
Copyright © 1999 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.

Training of Patients for Self-Management of Oral Anticoagulant Therapy: Standards, Patient Suitability, and Clinical Aspects

Stefan Mörsdorf* , Wolfhardt Erdlenbruch* , Uwe Taborski† , Joachim F. Schenk* , Karin Erdlenbruch* , Gerhard Novotny-Reichert‡ , Boris Krischek, Ernst Wenzel*
  • *From the Department of Hemostaseology and Transfusion Medicine, University Clinics,
  • †Kerckhoffklinik, Department of Hemostaseology and Transfusion Medicine, Bad Nauheim, and
  • ‡Fachklinik für Frührehabilitation, Abt. f. Kardiologie, Quierschied/Saar, Germany.
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Publication History

Publication Date:
06 February 2008 (online)

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Abstract

Self-control and self-management of oral anticoagulant therapy have become more and more attractive for patients undergoing long-term treatment. In our training center, we examined 50 patients who took part in a standardized training course for self-management. Patients (36 men, 14 women) were preselected according to the guidelines of the German Association for Self-management of Oral Anticoagulation (ASA e.V.) and were all trained by the same physician. The complete course took an average of eight sessions. Patients older than 59 years needed significantly more training time in theoretical advising than younger patients; they did not need more training time in practical matters. The values between International Normalized Ratio (INR) measured in venous blood samples and by self-assessment were comparable for both groups. There was a good overall correlation between self-controlled INRs and laboratory assays, however, the self-assayed INRs were significantly lower than those from the venous blood samples.

Keywords:

Oral anticoagulation - home-monitoring - self-management - patient training - INR