All of the following statements are true about warfarin except:-
High-Yield Explanation
WARFARIN It acts by inhibiting the activation of vitamin K dependent clotting factors. These factors include clotting factors II, VII, IX and X. Half life of warfarin is 36-48 hours. Bleeding is the most common adverse effect of all anticoagulants. If a patient develops bleeding due to overdose of warfarin, fresh frozen plasma (to supply clotting factors) is the treatment of choice but specific antidote is vitamin K1 (but the action will be delayed). It crosses the placenta and can cause fetal warfarin syndrome; also known as Contradi syndrome (growth retardation, stippled epiphyses, hypoplasia of nose and hand bones etc.) if used during pregnancy (therefore contraindicated). Prothrombin time is used to adjust the dose of warfarin (because it mainly affects the extrinsic pathway). Better test for monitoring the effect of oral anticoagulants is INR (international normalized ratio). In liver disease, there is decrease in formation of clotting factors. The dose of warfarin therefore should be reduced.