Warfarin Dosing after Initiation of Fenofibrate
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4212/cjhp.v58i1.285Abstract
INTRODUCTION
Anticoagulant therapy is central in the prevention and treatment of thromboembolic disease. Warfarin is currently the most commonly prescribed oral anticoagulant. Effective management of warfarin therapy is challenging, because of the drug’s narrow therapeutic index and the multitude of factors influencing its anticoagulant effects. Drug interactions often result in changes to the patent’s international normalized ratio (INR), which puts the patient at risk of bleeding or thrombosis. Initiation of fenofibrate in patients whose warfarin therapy has been stabilized has been reported to increase INR values and put patients at risk of hemorrhage.1-3 Trial-and-error dose decreases after observation of elevated INR have been described for patients receiving concurrent warfarin and fenofibrate therapy.1-3 We report a case in which the anticipated effect of fenofibrate therapy on the patient’s INR was managed proactively by aggressive reduction of the warfarin dose in the setting of therapeutic anticoagulation.
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