The Canadian Press
Date: Tuesday Apr. 13, 2010 8:53 AM ET
TORONTO — Researchers say people taking the blood-thinning drug warfarin should avoid a popular antibiotic that's often used to treat urinary tract infections. A study by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences found that warfarin can be dangerous when combined with the antibiotic cotrimoxazole, sold under such brand names as Bactrim and Septra. Principal investigator Hadas Fischer says some antibiotics boost the risk of bleeding in patients prescribed warfarin to prevent blood clots that could cause a heart attack or stroke.
The study found patients on warfarin who were prescribed cotrimoxazole had an almost four-fold greater risk of an upper-gastrointestinal hemorrhage compared to those not given the antibiotic. The researchers say the risk of bleeding is considerably higher than that from other antibiotics. Fischer says that in rare instances when the two drugs must be used together, doctors should monitor patients very closely.
Urinary-tract infections are extremely common among the elderly and often are treated with antibiotics that have a significant potential for interacting with warfarin, sold under brand names such as Coumadin. About 34 per cent of the 135,000 patients in the 10-year study, all of whom were taking warfarin, had at least one prescription for antibiotics to treat a urinary-tract infection. Seven per cent received at least one prescription for cotrimoxazole.
Overall, more than 2,000 patients taking warfarin were hospitalized with gastrointestinal bleeding. "This is a completely avoidable problem," says co-author Dr. David Juurlink, a scientist at ICES. "Whenever possible, clinicians should prescribe alternative antibiotics to cotrimoxazole in patients receiving warfarin."
source :
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100413/warafarin_100413/20100413?hub=Health&s_name=
regards, taniafdi ^_^
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