Mohamed Ahmed Adel, Alnewais Marwah E, Ibrahim Yasir A, Zaitoun Mohammad F
Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Clinical Pharmacy, King Faisal University, Al Hofuf, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Department of Pharmacy, Armed Forces Hospitals Southern Region, Khamis Mushayt, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
J Pharm Bioallied Sci. 2020 Jul-Sep;12(3):289-294. doi: 10.4103/jpbs.JPBS_233_19. Epub 2020 Jul 18.
For several decades, warfarin has been considered the mainstay anticoagulant for patients who require long-term prevention or treatment of thromboembolic disorders in outpatient settings. Hospital and community pharmacists--with adequate knowledge level and counseling skills--can play a significant role in improving warfarin therapy.
The aim of this study was to assess the hospital and community pharmacists' warfarin therapy knowledge and counseling practices in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia.
A cross-sectional study was conducted for 2 months. A self-administered questionnaire was designed focusing on warfarin mechanism of action, indications, safety profile, management of toxicity, monitoring, drug/food interactions, and patient education. The questionnaire was distributed among a random sample of hospital and community pharmacists in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.
One hundred and fifty-three pharmacists participated in the study; ninety-seven of them were hospital-based (63.4%), whereas the remaining were community pharmacists. Participant's mean years' of experience was 5.67. In terms of the percentage of right answers, hospital pharmacists showed significantly better warfarin therapy knowledge than community pharmacists ( = 0.026). The percentages of right answers were 31.3% for drug/food interactions, 49.9% for safety profile/management of toxicity, 53.3% for patient education, and 58.2% for monitoring warfarin safety/efficacy. Neither the participants' educational level nor their duration of experience had a significant correlation with the percentage of right answers ( = 0.22 and 0.61).
Inadequate knowledge and inappropriate practices were encountered among study participants, especially community pharmacists. Therefore, specialized training of pharmacists about warfarin therapy management is essential to optimize therapeutic outcomes and prevent complications.
几十年来，华法林一直被视为门诊患者长期预防或治疗血栓栓塞性疾病的主要抗凝药物。具备足够知识水平和咨询技能的医院和社区药剂师可在改善华法林治疗方面发挥重要作用。
本研究旨在评估沙特阿拉伯东部省份医院和社区药剂师对华法林治疗的知识及咨询实践情况。
进行了为期2个月的横断面研究。设计了一份自填式问卷，重点关注华法林的作用机制、适应证、安全性概况、毒性管理、监测、药物/食物相互作用及患者教育。该问卷分发给沙特阿拉伯东部省份医院和社区药剂师的随机样本。
153名药剂师参与了研究；其中97名是医院药剂师（63.4%），其余为社区药剂师。参与者的平均工作年限为5.67年。就正确答案的百分比而言，医院药剂师对华法林治疗的知识明显优于社区药剂师（P = 0.026）。药物/食物相互作用的正确答案百分比为31.3%，安全性概况/毒性管理为49.9%，患者教育为53.3%，监测华法林安全性/疗效为58.2%。参与者的教育水平和工作年限与正确答案的百分比均无显著相关性（P = 0.22和0.61）。
研究参与者，尤其是社区药剂师，存在知识不足和实践不当的情况。因此，对药剂师进行华法林治疗管理的专业培训对于优化治疗效果和预防并发症至关重要。
