Warfarin (Coumadin) Nursing Considerations

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Kara Tarr

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Drug Card Warfarin (Coumadin) (Cheatsheet)

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Outline

Generic Name

warfarin

Trade Name

Coumadin

Indication

venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, A-fib, myocardial infarction

Action

disrupts liver synthesis of Vitamin K dependent clotting factors

Therapeutic Class

Anticoagulant

Pharmacologic Class

coumarins

Nursing Considerations

• contraindicated with bleeding, severe hypertension
• can cause bleeding
• aspirin and NSAIDs can increase risk of bleeding
• azole antifungals increase effects of warfarin
• cimetadine(Tagamet) increases warfarin levels
• obtain full history of supplements and herbs
• large amounts of vitamin K may antagonize effects of warfarin
• assess for signs of bleeding
• therapeutic levels: PT 1.3-1.5, INR 2.5-3.5
• instruct patient to report any signs of bleeding
• patient should not drink alcohol
• bleeding times need to be monitored frequently
• vitamin K is antidote

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Transcript

Hey guys. Okay. Let’s talk about warfarin. Also known as Coumadin. This is an oral medication, as you can see here. So the therapeutic class of warfarin or how it works in the body is an, an coagulant while the pharmacologic class or its chemical effect is a Rine warfarin works by disrupting liver synthesis of vitamin K dependent cloting factors. We use warfarin for venous thrombosis for pulmonary embolisms AFib, and also for myocardial infarctions. Some of the side effects that we see with warfarin are bleeding, which is definitely its most common side effect, nausea, vomiting in abdominal pain, a few nursing considerations for warfarin. It is contraindicated in a patient who is actively bleeding and also a patient who has severe hypertension, aspirin, and NSAIDs can increase bleeding and AOL antifungal and editing can increase the effects of warfarin. The antidote for warfarin is vitamin K, which is super important to know, be sure to assess your patient for signs of bleeding and also their bleeding times, including their PT and I N R and teach the patient to not drink alcohol and report signs of bleeding to their provider. Immediately guys, vitamin K antagonism. It takes a long time. So if you need more immediate results using fresh frozen plasma in factor seven in factor eight, alongside blood transfusions is going to be your best bet. And here is an interesting fact, warfarin, w a R F a R I N. The name actually came from the Wisconsin alumni research foundation. That’s the w a RF and the a R N came from it being a CIN drug.

That’s it for warfarin or KU now go out and be your best cell and as always happy nursing.