INR finger prick confusion?

[WendyWoo50]

After reading Prof Hunts post it made me think of my resent result.

Last week I had a finger prick at the hospital. She put it into a tiny plastic tube and ran the machine as usual. Result 6.0

I walked straight round the corner into the nurses room for dosing. She retested by fingerprick using a hand held checker. Result 5.0.

She said she would dose me as 5.5

I was confused by the results, the procedure and dosing?

At 6.0 I should have had a Venus check but they repeated finger prick using a handheld?

Anyone shed any light on what's going on?

💋

[Lure2]

Why did they not do a vein-test as you were at the hospital?

INR 6.0 and 5.0 that is not good. If I were you I would ask about this. Wonder what the vein-test was. Are you Lupus Anticoagulant?

Kerstin in Stockholm

[WendyWoo50 in reply to Lure2]

Yes lupus anti ...

I just didn't get it. She said to get the results from a Venus she would have to wait around another hour (I was the last patient) she said she hadn't got time!

I understand she had another clinic to run and was under pressure.

[WendyWoo50]

Her hand held used strips but the first one was put into a small plastic tube in a machine.

[Lure2 in reply to WendyWoo50]

But both bloodsamples were taken in the finger, is that correct? Very odd. Two fingersamples taken at the same hour should not differ that much. Also quite too high.

Suggest you do some detective work to find out about what happened.

[WendyWoo50 in reply to Lure2]

Yes both taken in a finger

[jetjetjet]

and if you were 5.0 why would she dose you at 5.5 - i have noticed a change in whom doses my vein draw twice a week . it should be the same !!

[WendyWoo50]

I assumed she dosed me at 5.5 because it's half way between 5 & 6

With such a vast discrepancy one would think she would have insisted on a fingerprick.

Some days I have s fingerprivk by one machine the next they use the other. Which do I trust?

I'm in St Thomas Hospital London (since Tuesday - heart)) now and my dose has gone up to 20mg again plus Fragmin shots daily but my INR is 2.0 & 2.1 Venus.

This is what the Lupus anti coagulant does to me! I can range from 11.2 - 1.2 in 20 days, as I said in a previous post 💋

[Lure2]

As you are at St Thomas Hospital now I am sure they will sort this out. Someone who knows APS must react on your INRs.

INR 2.0 & 2.1 ; is that your therapeutic value or what is it? I suggest you talk to your Specialist about this.

[WendyWoo50 in reply to Lure2]

My target is 4

Range 3.5-4.5

So 2 is not good at all! 💋

[murphylotte]

I have just started selftesting at home. It aint easy, inr is up and down and this is 12 hours in between.

Your inr is high, hope they treat you after this.

Mashines are different and can read different levels. The vein is best to check and they should have!

Hope you get it sorted soon xx

[Tofino5]

I think that with LA we shouldn’t be finger tested. It is too unreliable. I have LA too, and I really tried to make finger testing work, but the results were all over the place, both higher and lower. I know some people are able to do it, but that’s less common with LA. With something as serious as an INR, veins are the way to go for us. Especially after getting a result like 6.0. She was in a hurry - but that’s not taking the best care of the patient.

It’s much easier and quicker to finger test, however I think she should have known better and made the patient need the priority, even if she had to find another person to finish your case.

I wish you well and hope you get this figured out.

[Lure2]

As a matter of fact, the vein-test at a laboratory, is the only test which is correct and gives a correct answer to the actual INR for us with APS and especially Lupus Anticoagulant positive.

If we selftest it is a must to do several doubletests to find out if and how much the difference is between the finger-test and the vein-test. Usually when the INR is high one day, the difference is greater.

Kerstin