Warfarin and uric acid after myocardial infarction.

In order to assess the influence of warfarin on serum urate concentration, changes in serum urate were studied in 50 patients after myocardial infarction. The patients studied were part of a prospective, randomized placebo-controlled study of warfarin after myocardial infarction. Twenty-three of the patients were treated with warfarin and 27 received placebo. The mean uric acid level fell in both groups during an average of 10 months (range 6-20 months), the reduction being of the same order of magnitude in either group. This implies that warfarin, in contrast to some other oral anticoagulants, does not exert any uric acid lowering effect.