A nurse is caring for a client who has deep vein thrombosis.

The client has been receiving IV heparin for the past 5 days and now has a new prescription for oral warfarin in addition to the heparin.

The client asks the nurse if both medications are necessary. Which of the following is an appropriate response by the nurse?

Choice A rationale
Neither heparin nor warfarin work to dissolve clots that have already formed. Instead, they work by reducing the blood’s ability to clot, preventing the formation of new clots and the growth of existing ones.
Choice B rationale
 
While it’s important for healthcare providers to communicate and explain treatments, it’s not necessary for the charge nurse to call the provider for an explanation in this case. The nurse should be able to explain the rationale for the medication regimen.
Choice C rationale
Heparin does not enhance the effects of warfarin. Both are anticoagulants, but they work in different ways and do not enhance each other’s effects.
Choice D rationale
Heparin will be continued until the warfarin reaches a therapeutic level. Heparin and warfarin are both anticoagulants that decrease the clotting ability of the blood and help prevent harmful clots from forming in the blood vessels. However, they work in different ways to achieve therapeutic coagulation and must be given together until therapeutic levels of anticoagulation can be achieved by warfarin alone, which usually takes about 3 days.