The Nurse practitioner
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The Nurse practitioner · Sep 1995
Review Case ReportsInternational Normalized Ratio (INR): an improved way to monitor oral anticoagulant therapy.
Oral anticoagulant therapy may be inappropriately managed and thus potentially place the warfarin-treated patient at an increased and unnecessary risk of bleeding or thromboembolic complications. This management issue is largely due to variations in measuring the pro-thrombin time. ⋯ This article focuses on the appropriate use of the INR to monitor patients' responses to warfarin sodium therapy. It is vitally important for health care providers to be aware of the INR, to use it in clinical practice, and to interpret it correctly.