Vitamin K for Perioperative Warfarin Management

Historically, warfarin is held for 5 days before a surgical procedure to obtain a safe INR (international normalized ratio) that minimizes bleeding risk. However, there is a strong rationale for continuing warfarin uninterrupted in the perioperative space and giving a one-time vitamin K dose to get a safe INR pre-operatively. This feasibility study will recruit patients who use warfarin and will measure their INR response after receiving a single pre-procedure vitamin K dose. This study will also assess the use of a one-time "loading" dose immediately post-operative to help the INR return to the therapeutic range sooner than continuing with the standard warfarin dosing.