Patient was instructed on precautions to be exercised regarding the vitamin K while taking Coumadin as follows: Coumadin is an anticoagulant medication. This helps to thin blood and prevent formation of blood clots. Vitamin K in the dietary foods can interfere with the actions of Coumadin and potentiate formation of clots. Patients taking Coumadin should watch carefully the amount of Vitamin K they are consuming in their diet. So, patients taking Coumadin will be instructed [...]

Patient was educated on how to interpret the INR results as follows: This lab is drawn on patient’s taking blood thinners upon doctor’s order. This reading is a measure of time taken for a person’s blood to clot. Normal result for a healthy adult is about 1.0. The target for patients on blood thinners is to manage the number between 2.0 – 3.0. If this number is too close to the normal (1.0), it indicates [...]

Nurse educated the patient and caregiver regarding the INR reading from PT/INR test as follows: Different labs use different PT tests and so, the results vary slightly from one another. Since these results are lacking a standardization, a new ratio was created using the PT result. This ratio is called INR (International Normalized Ratio), which allows a comparison between different lab results for PT with more accuracy. This reading is a measure of time taken [...]

Patient was educated on PT reading from the PT/INR test as follows: PT stands for prothrombin time. It is the time taken for a person’s blood to clot. This reading is measured in seconds. Normal result for a healthy adult is 11 – 14 seconds. Based on various factors, a person’s blood could be thin (difficult to clot) or thick (risk for an easy clot) and can result in altered readings from the usual normal. [...]

Patient was educated on warning signs when using anticoagulant as follows: Warfarin has the potential to cause some serious internal bleeds, which can result in the following findings that need immediate medical attention. Red or brown urine – secondary to bleeding in the urinary tract. Black or bloody stool – secondary to bleeding in the intestines. Severe stomach pain with vomiting of blood that looks like coffee grounds – Secondary to bleeding into the stomach. [...]