comparison between prothrombin complex concentrate (pcc) and fresh frozen plasma (ffp) for the urgent reversal of warfarin in patients with mechanical heart valves in a tertiary care cardiac center

fresh frozen plasma (ffp) and prothrombin complex concentrate (pcc) reverse oral anticoagulants such as warfarin. we compared the standard dosage ffp and pcc in terms of efficacy and safety for patients with mechanical heart valves undergoing interventional procedures while receiving warfarin. fifty patients were randomized (25 for each group) with mechanical heart valves [international normalized ratio (inr) >2.5] . ffp dosage was administered based on body weight (10-15 ml/kg), while pcc dosage was administered based on both body weight and target inr. inr measurements were obtained in different time after pcc and ffp infusion. the mean ± sd of inr pre treatment was not significantly different between the pcc and ffp groups. however, over a 48-hour period following the administration of pcc and ffp, 76% of the patients in the pcc group and only 20% of the patients in the ffp group reached the inr target. five (20%) patients in the pcc group received an additional dose of pcc, whereas 17 (68%) patients in the ffp group received a further dose of ffp (p=0.001). there was no significant difference between the two groups in hb and hct before and during a 48-hour period after pcc and ffp infusion. as regards safety monitoring and adverse drug reaction screening in the ffp group, the inr was high (inr > 2.5) in 86% of the patients. there was no report of hemorrhage in both groups. pcc reverses anticoagulation both effectively and safely while having the advantage of obviating the need to extra doses.