title: [Knowledge on chronic oral anticoagulation of patients followed up in a specialized outpatient clinic].
abstract: This study was carried out to assess patients' knowledge on anticoagulant therapy in an outpatient clinic. A questionnaire with ten questions with closed answers was applied. Correct answers to about 80% of the questions were considered satisfactory. Out of the 120 evaluated patients, 77 (64.1%) showed satisfactory knowledge, with an average of 7.8 +/- 1.7 correct answers. As to the International Normalized Ratio (INR), 69.4% of the sample was beyond therapeutic range, and 42.5% had hemorrhages in the last 6 months. Factors such as education level, income, hemorrhagic event, anticoagulation time, and gender did not show statistically significant difference. There is an obvious need for a systematic follow-up by health care professionals, using educational measures, to detect the difficulties faced by patients, maintaining an optimal INR.
authors.affiliation: Fundação Universitária de Cardiologia, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.
authors.forename: Clarissa de Borba
authors.initials: Cde B
authors.lastname: Henn
authors.forename: Eneida Rejane
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Rabelo
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boaz
authors.forename: Emiliane Nogueira
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: de Souza
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants