The Subcutaneous Use of Heparin

Abstract

The present use of anticoagulants is hampered by the necessity of giving a number of injections of heparin each day, or of using an oral anticoagulant which acts by throttling prothrombin delivery from the liver and does not seem to be a safe anticoagulant, since its laboratory control is not standardized. Because of this an attempt is made in this paper to show the effectiveness of administering heparin subcutaneously and of giving only enough to restore the clotting mechanism to its normal level but not necessarily prolonging the clotting time. With this principle a single injection of heparin a day or every second day seems sufficient, and the danger of hemorrhage is greatly minized.