By the way, doctor: Should my father go back to taking Coumadin?

Q. My father was quite active — he golfed a lot — before coming down with a bad case of pneumonia (he was on a ventilator for a while). He's recovered, but the pneumonia seems to have left him confused, and he walks with a walker now. We're looking into a nursing home or some kind of assisted living arrangement. My question: Before the pneumonia he was taking Coumadin because he had atrial fibrillation. Now that he's feeling better, should he start taking it again?

A. This is the kind of question that doctors face all the time, especially those who take care of the elderly.