Abstract
In the clinical setting, many doctors are confused that warfarin’s efficacy is affected by a variety of external factors, including the food and drugs patients ingest. In addition, it was recently discovered that certain genetic factors related to warfarin metabolism play important roles in determining warfarin’s efficacy. Two enzymes, CYP2C9 and VKOR are known to be major factors which affect the vitamin K pathway. In the Japanese population, gene polymorphism of both enzymes is different compared to western populations. As a result many Japanese tend to have a higher sensitivity to warfarin. Therefore, for Japanese patients, maintenance therapy with warfarin should be more carefully monitored.
We also warned that the quality of the prothrombin time reagent affects the accuracy of PT-INR monitoring.
