What happens in an emergency??

[aussiemember]

I've been on Coumadin for nearly 12 weeks now and thanks to the great advice on this forum and the recommendation to do home testing, things are going really well.

After reading the posts on bridging and the use of Lovenox etc. I just had a query. What happens in an emergency situation when you are on Coumadin? Say for example I am in a car accident or needed an emergency appendectonomy with my INR at 3.5 - do they operate and just take ages to stop the bleeding or do you need a lot more blood transfusions???

I'm sure there is a simple answer and apologies if this has been covered before........

 

[Bridgette]

Hi Jeanne

Depending on what the emergency was, they would probably give you fresh frozen plasma, or Vitamin K intravenously, I think.
Ross etc, correct me if I'm wrong..

I know that when I got flown to hospital with pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade and needed further surgery, I got given something through an IV line to bring down the INR (3.6) before they would/could operate.

 

[aussiemember]

Thanks for that Bridgette, appreciate your reply. It was just something I had been wondering about for a few days

 

[Nancy]

yep, vitamin K or fresh frozen plasma. It happened to Joe a couple of times.

 

[sue943]

I hope you are wearing something like a MedicAlert bracelet for starters so they know there is a potential bleeding problem if you are unable to tell them. Carrying the details in a wallet or diary are not enough, you might be separated from them and valuable time lost.

 

[Cris N]

Yes, you definitely want a medical bracelet or such. I had a procedure done a couple of years ago and 2 days later the oozing hadn't stopped. Back in the hospital they wanted to bring my INR down closer to 2.0ish. Fresh frozen plasma did the trick. It was my first time - I broke out in horrible hives. No breathing problems but itched like crazy. Quick shot of benadryl really helped!

 

[aussiemember]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I've got myself a Medical ID Bracelet - just need to get it resized - hopefully it'll be for decoration only

 

[Adrienne]

Aspirin therapy and an emergency

Aspirin therapy and an emergency

I was just wondering what they do if a person takes daily Aspirin and they have an emergency. There are millions of people who do (I'm one of them) and they usually do not wear a medic-alert bracelet.

 

[catwoman]

Adrienne:

That's a very good question!

I took aspirin for several months in late 1984 early 85, right before my hysterectomy because of endometrial hyperplasia and endometriosis. I noticed a much heavier discharge when I was taking aspirin compared to when I stopped prior to surgery.

I don't know how much more aspirin would affect bleeding as compared to warfarin. Maybe someone else here has that information in medical literature at their fingertips or on a flash drive.