Anticoagulation drugs are high risk medicines which too much of them can lead to bleeding and very little can cause clotting. This assignment will focus on the common anticoagulants which include heparin, heparin and enoxaparin. Warfarin is a drug that interferes with the usual way of coagulation (Levy, 2014). It is prescribed to individuals who are at a high risk for developing blood clots that can be dangerous. The drug is also used by individuals who may already have blood clots that are harmful. The goal of this treatment is to reduce the clotting ability of blood and not to stop clotting (McDonald & Scully, 2016). Therefore, it is important that the nurse monitors the ability of the blood to clot while a patient is using warfarin. The lab tests that a nurse can use in assessment when a patient is under warfarin include prothrombin time which measures the impact of the drug on PT (Levy, 2014).
Heparin is a drug treatment that prevents or inactivates processes that cause coagulation and stability of fibrin clots (Levy, 2014). When administered in high doses, the drug can cause bleeding that is severe. It is administered using a protocol that is standardized (Nuttall, 2002). Heparin needs very close monitoring due to the fact that it has a thin therapeutic level. Laboratory monitoring tests that a nurse can use in assessment include activated partial thromboplastin time, heparin levels in the plasma and complete blood count (Becattini & Agnelli, 2018).
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Enoxaparin also known as Lovenox is a heparin that has a reduced molecular weight. It is used in the prevention or treatment of acute deep vein thrombosis (Fareed, 2012). Individuals under this drug treatment are at an elevated risk for bleeding and therefore, close monitoring and lab assessments are important. During enoxaparin drug therapy, a nurse can assess the patient using laboratory tests that include complete blood count and anti-Factor Xa amounts for patients with impaired renal function (Cosmi et al., 2001).
Reference
Becattini, C., & Agnelli, G. (2018). Treatment: Anticoagulation. Oxford Medicine Online . doi:10.1093/med/9780198784906.003.0662
Cosmi, B., Conti, E., & Coccheri, S. (2001). Anticoagulants (heparin, low molecular weight heparin and oral anticoagulants) for intermittent claudication. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews . doi:10.1002/14651858.cd001999
Fareed, J. (2012). New oral anticoagulants. New Oral Anticoagulants, 2-5. doi:10.2217/ebo.12.68
Levy, J. H. (2014). Anticoagulants . Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier.
Mcdonald, V., & Scully, M. (2016). Anticoagulants and antithrombotics in critical illness. Oxford Medicine Online . doi:10.1093/med/9780199600830.003.0051
Nuttall, P. A. (2002). Anticoagulants . Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier.
