Sintrom (Acenocumarol) is an oral anticoagulant drug used to "fluidify" the blood and make it less prone to clot formation. It is available in common pharmacies upon presentation of a regular medical prescription, in tablets of one and four milligrams.
But why is it so important to prevent thrombosis? The risk of this condition lies in the possible crushing of the clots, from which fragments (called emboli) would originate which, pushed by the blood, could end up enclosing a blood vessel in an important organ, such as the lung, the heart or the brain, causing potentially lethal events, such as pulmonary embolism, heart attack and stroke.
In addition to Sintrom (Acenocumarol), another important anticoagulant available in Italy is Coumadin (Warfarin). The mechanism of action of the two drugs is similar, since both interfere with the coagulation mechanism through the inhibition of vitamin K dependent factors. The main difference between the two drugs is in the time of onset and disappearance of the therapeutic effect, faster for the syntrom and a little slower for the coumadin. Furthermore, INR values are a little more stable if anticoagualant therapy is performed with coumadin rather than syntrom. However, these are minor differences from a practical point of view; for this reason we refer the reader to the three in-depth articles on coumadin to obtain valid information also for the syntrom:
The Coumadin pack contains 5 mg tablets, while the Sintrom exists in two packs, 1 and 4 mg. Since these drugs are often used in pieces (a quarter or half tablet), the Sintrom is, at least from this point of view, easier to use.
Recall that the INR is an examination conducted on a small blood sample that detects the so-called " prothrombin time ". In practice this test measures the period of time necessary for the formation of a clot after the contact of blood with appropriate substances. This value, in order to obtain the INR, is then compared with the average prothrombin time of patients not treated with anticoagulants. If the INR is lower than required it is necessary to increase the dose of sintrom, if it is higher it must be reduced, while if the INR is optimal the dosage is maintained in place. Both anticoagulant drugs must be taken in extremely personalized doses, as each patient requires different amounts to reach an optimal level of "scoagulation". The most delicate days in this sense are precisely those that follow the beginning of the treatment, since only through close controls of the INR it is possible to establish the optimal dose for the single person. This may however vary over time based on the results of subsequent checks which, with the stabilization of the drug dosage, can also occur every 4-5 weeks.
The adequate dose of sintrom, in particular, can change due to interference from other drugs, new diseases, forgetfulness in taking the drug, changes in diet or physical activity.
