INR monitoring system may err in some patients

Candace Stuart | | Cardiovascular Business | Patient Care

Alere is alerting clinicians who use its international normalized ratio (INR) monitoring system that results in patients with certain conditions may be clinically lower than results from a laboratory test.

Alere initiated a voluntary correction for its INRatio and INRatio2 PT/INR Monitor system, noting that in some cases results will vary from those obtained with a reference INR system. The company warned that the system should not be used in patients with:

  • Anemia of any type with hematocrit less than 30 percent
  • Any conditions associated with elevated fibrinogen levels
  • Any bleeding or unusual bruising, clinically observed or reported by the patient

Alere advised clinicians to switch patients with any of the conditions to a laboratory INR method for monitoring their INR and warfarin therapy.

Candace Stuart, Contributor

Related Content

FDA and Boston Scientific issue urgent alert about pacemaker failures following 2 deaths
Concomitant ablation surgery during heart operations boosts long-term survival
Cardiologist explores why colchicine failed to help heart attack patients
Bioresorbable BTK stent superior to ballon angioplasty at 2 years
Most heart failure patients miss out on guideline-recommended palliative care
Cardiologist behind EARLY TAVR explains how proactive treatment improves patient outcomes

Around the web

Radiology Business
Key takeaways from RSNA 2024 for AI, CT, MRI and the radiology staffing shortage

Several key trends were evident at the Radiological Society of North America 2024 meeting, including new CT and MR technology and evolving adoption of artificial intelligence.

Health Imaging
Use of AI opportunistic screening in CT for cardiovascular disease

Ron Blankstein, MD, professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School, explains the use of artificial intelligence to detect heart disease in non-cardiac CT exams.

Health Imaging
New imaging protocols proposed to curb rise of cardiovascular infections

Eleven medical societies have signed on to a consensus statement aimed at standardizing imaging for suspected cardiovascular infections.