INR (international normalized ratio) help!

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If a patient has an INR of 1.2 are they clotting slower or faster? i know that a normal INR is 2.0 to 3.0 but i cannot find ANYWHERE where it says what is faster or slower clotting times.:eek:

My last resort was to ask someone on here, thanks!

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Specializes in Private Practice- wellness center.

Think of it in the amount of time it takes your blood to clot. Lower numbers mean that it's clotting faster.

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A normal INR is 1.0 because it's a measurement of the patient's prothrombin time compared to the prothrombin time of a normal sample of blood.

Patients on warfarin will have a target INR which is often 2.0 to 3.0 but can be different depending on the reason they're on warfarin. So, if the target INR is 2.0 to 3.0 and the patient's INR is below 2.0 that means their warfarin dose needs to be increased. If the patient's INR is above 3.0 that means their warfarin dose needs to be decreased.

The higher the INR the greater the risk for bleeding/haemorrhage, I think from memory above 4.0 is considered significant risk. This is why people on warfarin have regular INRs done and their warfarin dose is adjusted according to the result.

To answer your question, a patient with an INR of 1.2 has close enough to normal clotting time.

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Sorry, should also have added that an INR of 2.0 means that the blood takes twice as long as normal to clot, an INR of 3.0 means that the blood takes 3 times as long as normal to clot, and so on.

Hope that helps.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
http://www.hemosense.com/docs/TechBulletin102_StandardizationPTINRTesting_revB.pdf
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Thanks everyone. so if a patient is prescribed enoxaprin and their INR is 1.2 you would administer it b/c it is clotting faster than it should?

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Specializes in PICU.

Enoxaprin is administered to thin the blood to prevent clots, or prevent dislodging a clot that already exists. You would administer the dose because you want to increase clotting time (and therefore increase the INR). 1.2 to is close to normal, and therefore would not be considered therapeutic. The dose may need to be increased to achieve a therapeutic level.

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ok im just writing this out for my own sake b/c the simpler the better for me lol.

increased INR = Increased Bleeding (longer to clot)

Decrease INR = Increased Clotting

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Just remember that Lovenox does not generally affect the INR. INR is used to monitor the effectiveness of warfarin, not Lovenox. Is the patient also on warfarin?

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ok im just writing this out for my own sake b/c the simpler the better for me lol.

increased INR = Increased Bleeding (longer to clot)

Decrease INR = Increased Clotting

Jawsona, I'm not trying to be picky here, but that's not really right. In simple terms, a normal INR (1.0) means that the person's blood is clotting normally.

Any increase in the INR means that the person's blood is taking longer to clot, the INR just measures how much longer than normal it is taking.

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