INR Self monitoring

The Oral Anticoagulation Therapy (OAT) is a widely used therapy in the prevention and treatment of thromboembolic events. It applies for example to patients with mechanical heart valves and chronic atrial fibrillation.

The appropriate dose of the drug must be individualized. If the dose is too low, the patient is not adequately protected against the development of new thromboembolic event. If the dose is too high, the risk of bleeding increases.

Until recently, monitoring was only possible by visiting a hospital or a laboratory. This practice represents a challenge for patients, particularly for those who live in more remote locations or those who travel regularly or maintain a demanding occupation. Moreover, as with most laboratory tests, there is significant time between blood collection and provision of results for the physician to monitor and prescribe the OAT

The development of miniaturized systems for determination of INR allowed the introduction of the concept of "Self-monitoring in Homecare" (at home) and "Monitoring of Point-of-Care" (public places self-service). The realization of the ambulatory determination were studied, without shift of patients to a specialized center, not only allows more frequent monitoring, but also to reach a stable level of scrutiny appropriate. Moreover several studies have shown that the results obtained with portable equipment are superimposable to those obtained in the conventional system.

This kind of approach proved to be safe and showed in some trials to be more efficient than the conventional approach.

ILS Service includes:

● Monitoring the dose
● Defining the optimal range of assessment
● Dose adjustment
● Advice (24 hours per day)
    · Drug interactions
    · Bleeding
    · Food and drinks interactions
    · Doubts
● Service provided through a call center with supervision of a medical doctor specialized in Immunohemotherapy