A male patient in his late sixties presents to the primary care clinic with a three-day history of dysuria, increased urinary frequency, and suprapubic discomfort. His past medical history is significant for a provoked deep vein thrombosis of the right lower extremity diagnosed three months ago, for which he has been receiving warfarin therapy. His International Normalized Ratio (INR) has been stable and therapeutic for the past six weeks. A point-of-care INR obtained today is . Urinalysis reveals positive leukocyte esterase, positive nitrites, and moderate bacteria. The physician diagnoses an uncomplicated urinary tract infection and decides to prescribe a three-day course of oral trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Vital signs are within normal limits, and the patient is otherwise stable.
Which of the following is the most appropriate next step regarding this patient's anticoagulant management?
- AContinue the current warfarin dose and maintain the routine four-week interval for the next INR check
- BMeasure an activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) prior to starting the antibiotic to establish a new baseline
- CAdmit the patient to the hospital for continuous intravenous unfractionated heparin bridging during the antibiotic treatment
- Decrease the current warfarin dose by to and schedule an INR check in to daysCevap
- EHold warfarin therapy for the duration of the antibiotic course to prevent the INR from exceeding the therapeutic range