Key result
Oral anticoagulation therapy linked to a ~9-point improvement in general health status at six months.
Why the study?
Does oral anticoagulation therapy improve health-related quality of life at six-month follow-up in patients with various medical indications?
Observational (n=78)
Does oral anticoagulation therapy improve health-related quality of life at six-month follow-up in patients with various medical indications?
Oral anticoagulation therapy is associated with a significant improvement in health-related quality of life during the first six months of treatment.
Oral anticoagulation may improve HRQoL in the first 6 months; leaves open generalizability and practice implications beyond this small cohort.
OBJECTIVE: to study the changes in health-related quality of life from beginning of anticoagulation therapy to six-month follow-up, and to study associations of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics with measures of quality of life and general health status at six-month follow-up, in individuals using oral anticoagulation due to various medical indications for the therapy. METHOD: prospective study performed at a city in the state of Paraná, Brazil, composed of 78 patients. Measures included the Duke Anticoagulation Satisfaction Scale and the Medical Outcomes Survey Short Form SF-36. RESULTS: mean age was 57 years (S.D.= 16) and 54% were women. Compared to the beginning of therapy, there was a statistically significant improvement in health-related quality of life at six-month follow-up. Linear regression analyses explained 32% and 30%, respectively, of the variance of the Duke Anticoagulation Satisfaction Scale and of the general health status. There was improvement in all components of the SF-36, except Mental Health. CONCLUSION: The use of oral anticoagulation therapy was associated with improvement in health-related quality of life in the first six months of therapy. This study is longitudinal and therefore, has fewer limitations than cross-sectional studies published to date in the Nursing literature in Brazil.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Carvalho et al. (2013) conducted an observational in Indications for oral anticoagulation therapy (e.g., atrial fibrillation, deep vein thrombosis, mechanical valve prosthesis) (n=78). Oral anticoagulation therapy vs. Baseline (beginning of therapy) was evaluated on General Health Status (GHS) measured by a visual analogue scale (Mean change of 9 points, p=<0.001). Oral anticoagulation therapy was associated with a statistically significant improvement in perceived general health status (mean change of 9 points, p<0.001) at six-month follow-up compared to baseline.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: