Abstract
Background and Objectives: There are multiple factors associated with the risk of bleeding for patients undergoing warfarin treatment. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the incidence of major and minor bleeding for patients undergoing warfarin treatment. In addition, the study explored the association between various factors and the risk of major and minor bleeding.
Methods: A cross-sectional design was used for patients with atrial fibrillation who were attending the anticoagulation clinic at King Abdul Aziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Hospital medical records were used to identify patients taking warfarin. The exclusion criteria were patients taking other anticoagulants, who had end-stage liver disease, or who were on hemodialysis. Data were analyzed according to sociodemographics, comorbidities, abnormal liver function, labile INR, and drug-induced bleeding.
Results: A total of 264 patients were included in this study. The results revealed that female patients experienced major bleeding more frequently than did their male counterparts. Older age patients had more episodes of major or minor bleeding. In addition, hypertension was more prevalent in those who experienced any type of bleeding. The study also revealed that having diabetes decrease the risk of major bleeding.
Conclusion: These study results showed that diabetic and hypertensive patients had improved bleeding outcomes. Health care providers and policy makers need to increase efforts to reduce the burden of the factors associated with bleeding.