Suchada Khamkongkhun. Impact of Warfarin-monitoring service by a clinical pharmacist in patients undergoing cardiovascular and thoracic surgery . Master's Degree(Clinical Pharmacy). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2007.
Impact of Warfarin-monitoring service by a clinical pharmacist in patients undergoing cardiovascular and thoracic surgery
Abstract:
The objective of this study was to determine the impact of having a clinical pharmacist in
warfarin-monitoring service regarding the quality of anticoagulation control and the rate of
haemorrhagic and thromboembolic complications. A quasi-experimental study was conducted in 57
patients at the Cardiovascular and Thoracic surgical ward, Siriraj Hospital, as the intervention group and
another 57 patients as the control group. Baseline characteristics such as age, gender, underlying
diseases, types of operation procedure were comparable between the two groups. The results showed
that the proportion of patients with therapeutic INR (2.0 to 3.0) in the intervention group at discharge
and at 30 days after initiation of warfarin therapy was significantly higher than in the control group
(77.19% vs 59.65%, p = 0.044 and 57.89% vs 31.58%, p = 0.005, respectively). No haemorrhagic
complication was found. The rate of thromboembolic complication in the intervention group was
slightly higher than in the control group (0.06 events/100 patient-days vs none, respectively) but no
significant difference was present (p = 1.000). In addition, a clinical pharmacist could effectively
identify drug therapy problems (DTPs) and medication errors (MEs). One hundred and four DTPs and
43 MEs were detected in the intervention group. Most common DTPs and MEs were inappropriate
dosage regimen and omission, respectively. More than 90% of pharmacist interventions were accepted
by physicians. Overall results indicated that clinical pharmacist, as a member of patient care team, could
effectively provide warfarin-monitoring service through several activities including warfarin dosage
adjustment, identifying, preventing and resolving DTPs and MEs, and providing education and
discharge counseling to patients. Moreover, the patient care team was satisfied with the service.
Consequently, the service appeared to improve the quality of warfarin therapy and enhance positive
patient outcomes.