Perioperative transient ischemic attack caused by the cessation of warfarin

Abstract

This paper describes the circumstances of a patient who had been receiving long-term warfarin treatment, but ceased it prior to surgical operation, sustained a transient ischemic heart attack post-operatively, which eventuated in delayed extubation and locked-in syndrome. For patients at low risk of perioperative bleeding, anticoagulation with oral vitamin K antagonist can probably be able to maintain the therapeutic range (INR ≤ 2.0) extreme. For patients with a high risk of bleeding, the international normalized ratio (INR) should be kept ≤1.5. Within this range, patients at low risk of thrombosis can discontinue warfarin treatment for 2–5 days pre-operatively; patients at high risk for thrombosis can stop warfarin but should probably be treated with intravenous or subcutaneous heparin when the INR is subtherapeutic.