It is still on discussion how oral anticoagulant therapy must be interrupted. A progressive diminution of drug intake have been proposed in order to avoid a MreboundM of vitamin K-dependent procoagulant factors. At the present, it is well known that coumarin drugs affect not only the biologic activity of factors II, VII, IX and X but also Protein C (PC), an inhibitor of coagulation kinetics, and their cofactor Protein S. With the aim to determine the recovery level of PC in relation with the others vitamin K-dependent factors, the effect of suppression of anticoagulant therapy in patients under chronic treatment with acenocoumarin was studied.Quick time, functional factors II, VII, X (one stage methods), functional PC (Francis method) and immunological Factor II and Protein C (Laurell) were determined before and 36 hours after suspension of acenocoumarin administration.Results showed that: 1) Recovery levels of functional Protein C (increased from 28.55% ±2.57 to 72.64% ±5.9) were significantly higer than functional Factor II (22.09% ±2.34 to 30.73% ±8.64), Factor VII (22.55% ±2.01 to 40.73% ±4.85) and Factor X (23.27% ±2.66 to 39.18% ±3.19). Statistical analysis (Newmann-Keuls test) showed at least a p<0.01 between PC increase and factors II, VII or X increment.2) No significant differences were seen between immunological levels of Factor II before and after suspension of acenocoumarin.3) Levels of immunological PC in patients under anticoagulant therapy were higer than functional PC. After acenocoumarin suppression, not correlation was seen between immunological and functional Protein C recovery.It is concluded that acute suppression of acenocoumarin does not induce a thrombotic tendency because the recuperation of functional Protein C is more important than factors II, VII and X recovery.
Characteristics of Symptomatic Intracranial Hemorrhage in Patients Receiving Non-Vitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulant Therapy
