American Association of Blood Banks
View all recommendations from this societyReleased April 24, 2014; Updated January 28, 2022
Don’t routinely use blood products to reverse warfarin.
Patients requiring reversal of warfarin can often be reversed with vitamin K or discontinuation of warfarin alone. Prothrombin complex concentrates or plasma should only be used for patients with serious bleeding or requiring emergency surgery.
These items are provided solely for informational purposes and are not intended as a substitute for consultation with a medical professional. Patients with any specific questions about the items on this list or their individual situation should consult their physician.
How The List Was Created
Recommendations were drafted by a work group led by AABB Director Jeannie Callum, MD. Ten draft statements were edited by the AABB Clinical Transfusion Medicine Committee, chaired by Aaron Tobian, MD. In order to identify the top five statements, a random sampling of AABB physician members working in the field of transfusion medicine in hospitals, as well as all members of AABB’s Clinical Transfusion Medicine Committee, were asked to rate the 10 draft statements. On a Likert scale, participants were asked to “indicate the importance of including each of the following transfusion-related statements in the Choosing Wisely campaign promoting the appropriate use of health care resources.” The final top five statements were approved by the AABB Board of Directors.
AABB’s disclosure and conflict of interest policy can be found at www.aabb.org.
Sources
Holbrook A, Schulman S, Witt DM, Vandvik PO, Fish J, Kovacs MJ, Svensson PJ, Veenstra DL, Crowther M, Guyatt GH; American College of Chest Physicians. Evidence-based management of anticoagulant therapy: antithrombotic therapy and prevention of thrombosis, 9th ed: American College of Chest Physicians Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines. Chest. 2012 Feb;141(2 Suppl):e152S–84S.
