Background: In Japan, warfarin treatment at prothrombin time-international normalized ratio (PT-INR) of 1.60-2.60 is recommended for elderly patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). But it remains unknown whether PT-INR 1.60-1.99 has a similar effect on stroke severity as a value > 2.0. The purpose of this study was to clarify the association between infarct volume and PT-INR levels.
Methods and Results: The 180 patients (mean age, 76 years [SD, 10 years], 53% male) selected from 429 consecutive ischemic stroke patients admitted within 48 h of onset between 2004 and 2014 with NVAF were included. We classified them into 4 groups according to their PT-INR values on admission: no warfarin (NW), 129 patients; PT-INR < 1.60 (poor control: PC), 29 patients; PT-INR 1.60-1.99 (low-intensity control: LC), 14 patients; and PT-INR >= 2.00 (high-intensity control: HC), 8 patients. Median (interquartile range: IQR) of infarct volume was 55 mL (IQR 14-175) in the NW, 42 mL (IQR 27-170) in the PC, 36 mL (IQR 6-130) in the LC, and 11 mL (IQR 0-39) in the HC groups. The infarct volume of the HC group was significantly smaller than in the other 3 groups, but no difference existed between the LC and PC groups or the LC and NW groups.
Conclusions: Warfarin control at PT-INR of 1.60-1.99 is not effective for reducing the severity of ischemic stroke in NVAF patients.