Control and complications of intermittent heparin therapy

A prospective study using an intermittent six hour method of heparin administration with control of subsequent dosage by the activated partial thromboplastin time revealed an over-all incidence of hemorrhagic complications of 12 per cent. If surgical patients are excluded, the incidence of hemorrhage falls to 4 per cent. This may be further reduced by monitoring the activated partial thromboplastin time within the therapeutic range. In no patient did thromboembolism recur while receiving heparin. It is suggested that this method provides adequate control of heparin therapy with an acceptable complication rate and adequate thromboembolic control and is cheaper to use than a continuous infusion.