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January 11, 2005
VITAL SIGNS
Measurements: Home Care, This Time for Blood
By JOHN O'NEIL
any patients with heart disorders or artificial heart valves are given blood-thinning drugs to prevent clots, but keeping the balance between too thick and too thin is a delicate matter that requires regular professional treatment.
A new study, however, found that patients who measured their own blood thickness at home did just as well maintaining that balance and had fewer complications than patients treated conventionally.
The findings were published last week in The Annals of Internal Medicine. An editorial in that issue said self-management of blood thinners was "an idea whose time has come."
In the study, 737 outpatients on anticlotting medications like warfarin were randomly assigned to continue monthly visits to a hospital clinics or were given portable coagulometers, handheld devices that the study's lead researcher, Dr. Juan Carlos Souto of Barcelona, compared to the blood sugar monitors commonly used by diabetics.
The self-management patients needed an average of four hours of training in using the device, the study said. They were instructed to check their blood once a week, to make adjustments on the basis of the readings and to contact the clinic for testing if needed.
The dangers in managing blood-thinning drugs are the possibility of hemorrhages if the blood becomes too thin or clots if it becomes too thick.
Over a year, tests taken on clinic visits showed that the groups performed about equally in keeping blood viscosity within desired levels, the study said. Two percent of the self-managed group had major complications, including stroke and hemorrhage, compared with 7 percent of the control group. Similar differences were seen in rates of minor complications, the study said.
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company | Home | Privacy Policy | Search | Corrections | RSS | Help | Back to Top
January 11, 2005
VITAL SIGNS
Measurements: Home Care, This Time for Blood
By JOHN O'NEIL
any patients with heart disorders or artificial heart valves are given blood-thinning drugs to prevent clots, but keeping the balance between too thick and too thin is a delicate matter that requires regular professional treatment.
A new study, however, found that patients who measured their own blood thickness at home did just as well maintaining that balance and had fewer complications than patients treated conventionally.
The findings were published last week in The Annals of Internal Medicine. An editorial in that issue said self-management of blood thinners was "an idea whose time has come."
In the study, 737 outpatients on anticlotting medications like warfarin were randomly assigned to continue monthly visits to a hospital clinics or were given portable coagulometers, handheld devices that the study's lead researcher, Dr. Juan Carlos Souto of Barcelona, compared to the blood sugar monitors commonly used by diabetics.
The self-management patients needed an average of four hours of training in using the device, the study said. They were instructed to check their blood once a week, to make adjustments on the basis of the readings and to contact the clinic for testing if needed.
The dangers in managing blood-thinning drugs are the possibility of hemorrhages if the blood becomes too thin or clots if it becomes too thick.
Over a year, tests taken on clinic visits showed that the groups performed about equally in keeping blood viscosity within desired levels, the study said. Two percent of the self-managed group had major complications, including stroke and hemorrhage, compared with 7 percent of the control group. Similar differences were seen in rates of minor complications, the study said.
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company | Home | Privacy Policy | Search | Corrections | RSS | Help | Back to Top
