Abstract

A PROSPECTIVE STUDY ON THE ASSESSMENT OF THE PATIENTS’ KNOWLEDGE AND ADHERENCE TO WARFARIN THERAPY IN CARDIOLOGY OUTPATIENTS

Jisha James*, Rehana John, Dr. Santhosh M. Mathews and Dr. Sajan Ahmad Z.

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Warfarin is an anticoagulant widely used for prevention and treatment of thromboembolic disorders. It has a narrow therapeutic index, the dose response varies among patients and is subject to adjustment due to genetics and its interactions with other drugs and food, patient’s concurrent disease, compliance and overall knowledge of therapy. So patients must be educated fully regarding warfarin therapy to achieve the desired therapeutic outcome. Aim: To assess the patient’s knowledge and adherence to warfarin therapy in Cardiology Outpatients. Objectives: To evaluate patient’s knowledge on warfarin therapy and provide education. To assess patient’s adherence level to warfarin therapy and provide education. To analyze prescriptions for drug interaction and adverse events associated to warfarin. Methodology: A Prospective study was carried out in a tertiary care hospital at the Dept. of Cardiology for a period of six months in patients who satisfied both inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results and Discussion: In this study, 40 patients were studied. Patient’s knowledge (OAK score) on anticoagulation increased from an average of 9.6±3.2 to 17.6±1.98 (P<0.05) after clinical pharmacist’s counselling. Using MMAS-8 scale, there was remarkable improvement from 35% to 100 % in adherence to the warfarin therapy after counseling (P<0.05). 10% of the population experienced bleeding.45% of the population had drug interactions in their prescriptions. Conclusion: Clinical pharmacists play a crucial role in improving knowledge and medication adherence of patients on warfarin therapy.

Keywords: Warfarin; Anticoagulation; OAK; MMAS-8; Warfarin knowledge.