Oral anticoagulants acting via vitamin K antagonists have long been employed in the clinical practice. However, difficulties related to the management of treatment regimens and complications still persist. Among the complications, bleeding disorders are widely known, but others should also be taken into consideration, such as warfarin-induced skin necrosis. The pathophysiology of this rare but severe complication is still obscure, and its causes remain to be defined. Among possible causes, protein C and protein S deficiency, hypersensitivity reactions and VII factor deficiency are the most probable ones. There is an increased incidence of warfarin-induced skin necrosis among middle-aged women, usually affecting breasts and buttocks. The most important treatment measures are immediate discontinuation of the drug, use of unfractionated or low-molecular-weight heparin at therapeutic doses, use of vitamin K and, eventually, infusion of fresh-frozen plasma or recombinant activated protein C.
Anticoagulants; warfarin; venous thromboembolism