The Management of Anticoagulant Therapy

Abstract

Safe, effective anticoagulant therapy requires observance of certain principles of management. The physician must be certain that an absolute contraindication to such therapy does not exist, must be familiar with the agents employed, and must know how to reverse their effects promptly. He must rely on the laboratory for specific information concerning the effects of the drug on the clotting mechanism, but it is his responsibility to interpret the test results clinically.