How Effective Is Clinical Control of Anticoagulant Therapy?

Abstract

In order to judge the effectiveness of anticoagulant therapy, one must establish what constitutes adequate anticoagulation. The “effective therapeutic range” of prothrombin activity (expressed in seconds, not as a percentage) should be defined. In a comparative study of treated and control groups, values outside this range should be excluded from the analysis. According to our criteria of effective clinical control, 80 of 100 patients who received anticoagulant therapy in our hospital were adequately treated.