Purpose: To evaluate the rate of any type of anticoagulant drug use in urological inpatients and patients awareness of their effect on coagulation. Material and methods: This observational study was conducted prospectively in a cohort of 193 consecutive urological inpatients who were asked to state the medications they were taking and following that, were specifically asked whether they were taking aspirin or other antiplatelet/anticoagulant agents. In case they did so, they were further asked why they were taking them, whether they knew their effect on coagulation and who had informed them on the matter. Results: Forty-seven patients received some kind of antithrombotic treatment. Twenty-nine per cent of aspirin users had to be specifically prompted in order to state its use, in comparison to 35.7% and 25% of other antiplatelets and warfarin users, respectively. Half of patients receiving warfarin were not aware of its effect on coagulation in comparison to 32.3% and 21.4% of those taking aspirin and other antiplatelets, respectively. Conclusion: Urologists should be aware of the high use of such agents by their patients and that not all patients are aware of their effect on coagulation, while some, even fail to report their use and have to be specifically prompted.
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