Polskie Archiwum Medycyny Wewnętrznej
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Pol. Arch. Med. Wewn. · Mar 2024
Does the atrial fibrillation still increase the risk of death? Results from the NOMED study in one-year follow-up.
Although atrial fibrillation (AF) is a well‑known risk factor for ischemic stroke and hospitalization, its effect on mortality has not been clearly established. ⋯ AF is an independent risk factor for death and cardiovascular hospitalization. The risk of death and stroke in patients with AF is significantly higher than in the patients without this arrhythmia. Oral anticoagulation in patients with AF significantly reduces the rates of death and stroke; however, its use is suboptimal in this group of patients.
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Pol. Arch. Med. Wewn. · Mar 2024
Unfractionated heparin: optimizing laboratory monitoring and reducing unwanted interference in everyday hemostasis test practice.
Unfractionated heparin (UFH) serves as a commonly used anticoagulant. It is widely utilized for a variety of reasons, including to 1) anticoagulate patients and help treat and / or prevent thrombosis, 2) maintain patency in artificial blood flow circuits, and 3) anticoagulate blood samples collected for laboratory testing (typically for biochemical assays or blood gas analysis). ⋯ Therefore, in laboratory practice, UFH may be present in samples intended for monitoring patients on UFH therapy or intended for biochemical tests, or it may interfere with other (hemostasis) laboratory tests. The aim of this manuscript is to review the role of UFH from the perspective of optimizing laboratory testing to monitor UFH therapy and to avoid or overcome unwanted interference with other laboratory tests.