الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Oral anticoagulation although of proven benefit in a number of disorders can be dangerous without careful monitoring. Managing long term oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT) in patients is a complex task. Some cardiovascular diseases precipitate an unwanted blood coagulation action requiring the use of oral anticoagulants (OACs) such as atrial fibrillation (AF), venous thromboembolism, and patients with prosthetic heart valves, congestive heart failure (CHF), and myocardial infarction (MI). The use of OACs requires some care in order to control the desirable levels of blood coagulation and to prevent hemorrhagic and thromboembolic complications. Such care can lead to changes in the lifestyle of patients since this involves changes in the dietary habits, the use of alcohol and the performance of physical activity, as well as the overload caused by new tasks related to the use of medication, such as the habit of daily ingestion of the medication and the need for frequent visits to health services for monitoring of the anticoagulation range, and the fear of complications such as bleeding and thrombus formation. All these changes caused by the use of the drug may impair the quality of life (QoL) of the patient. Aim: The present study aimed to assess the effect of oral anticoagulant therapy on patients’ quality of life. Methods: A descriptive exploratory design was used. Setting: this study was conducted at cardiac outpatients clinics at Ain Shams University Hospital which are affiliated to Ain Shams University Sample: A purposive sample of (100) adult patients with diagnosis of AF both gender on oral anticoagulant therapy were recruited for the conduction of this study. Tool: Patients’ quality of life questionnaire sheet. Results: The OAT had –ve effect on total QoL for patients under study ranged from low –ve 16%, moderate –ve 61% and high –ve effect 23%. Furthermore, there is no statistically significant relation between patients’ total QoL affection & their characteristic including gender, education , occupation, type, dose & duration of OAT p>0.005. Meanwhile, there is statistically significant relation between their QoL affection & age p<0.001 & marital status p<0.05 Conclusion: Oral anticoagulant therapy has statistically significant –ve effect on total QoL (General health, Physical activities, Physical, Emotional health problems, Social activities, Pain and Vitality) of all patients under study ranged from low, moderate and high –ve effect. Recommendations: Further research studies are needed to focus on studying factors affecting QoL for patients’ on oral anticoagulant therapy. |