LACK OF EFFECT OF FORTIFIED WINE INGESTED DURING FASTING AND ANTI-COAGULANT THERAPY

Because daily ingestion of 592 ml of table wine (12% ethanol by vol) during mealtime had no notable effect on long-term therapeutic hypoprothrombinemia with racemic warfarin Na in normal subjects, similar experiments were repeated using fortified wine (20% ethanol by vol) during fasting. For 21 days, 7 normal subjects were given therapeutic levels of the anticoagulant racemic warfarin alone and with warfarin plus 296 ml/day of fortified wine during fasting. The blood-alcohol level of 296 ml of fortified wine ingested during fasting is equivalent to 1646 ml of table wine ingested during mealtime. No significant difference occurred in the 1-stage prothrombin activity or the plasma levels of warfarin in any subject. Daily ingestion of fortified wine during fasting has no effect on therapeutic levels of hypoprothrombinemia of normal humans.