Warfarin dosage predictions assisted by the analog computer

Abstract

This paper describes an analog computer program used to predict warfarin dosages following an initial three daily doses of 10 mg. The program simulates the patient's response to warfarin and suggested dosages can be entered into the program daily to predict the dose necessary for the patient. Warfarin dosage predictions were made for 29 patients. There was a statistically significant correlation between predicted prothrombin time (PT) response and actual PT response (p less than 0.005) for all predictions made. However, when actual and predicted responses were compared with a paired t test, they were significantly different (p less than 0.05). The program described here has been useful for predicting initial warfarin requirements for the majority of patients. Continued research is necessary to identify useful computer methods for predicting warfarin dosages.