Authors: (including presenting author): :
Chan V(1)(2), Cheung YY(2), Leung YY(1), Wong KM(1), Chu KY(1)
Affiliation: :
(1) Pharmacy, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, (2) School of Pharmacy, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Keyword 1: :
Pharmacist anticoagulation clinic
Keyword 5: :
Chinese Oral Anticoagulants Knowledge Tool (C-OAKT)
Introduction: :
In response to the special care required for patients treated with anticoagulant and the growing number of patients taking these medications, the Pharmacist Anticoagulation Clinic (PAC) was set up, aiming to enhance patient care, knowledge and adherence on anticoagulants.
Objectives: :
The objective of this study is to assess knowledge of patients on anticoagulants using the newly validated C-OAKT tool and to measure the impact of PAC on patients' knowledge, adherence, and efficacy in the context of anticoagulation therapy.
Methodology: :
This retrospective service evaluation study assessed the impact of PAC, including patients’ and caregivers’ knowledge, adherence and efficacy. Patients attending PAC for the first time from September 2024 to February 2025 were recruited. The primary outcomes were the change in knowledge and adherence level post-PAC. Secondary outcomes included the change in TTR in patients treated with warfarin after PAC, correlation between knowledge, adherence and TTR, the presence of bleeding and thromboembolic events pre- and post-PAC, comparison of knowledge and adherence score between patients (1) who developed bleeding events versus no bleeding events and (2) who developed thromboembolic events versus no thromboembolic events.
Result & Outcome: :
A total of 69 patients were evaluated. A statistically significant improvement of 24.6% (Mean = -1.60, p < 0.001) was seen in knowledge score. The improvement in adherence score of 2.70% and TTR of 3.3% did not yield a statistical significance. Non-statistically significant positive correlations between change in knowledge and change in adherence, change in adherence and change in TTR were observed. Non-statistically significant improvement was found in the presence of bleeding events at 28 days (8.7% versus 1.4%) and 168 days (13.0% versus 10.1%) post-PAC and thromboembolic events at 168 days post-PAC (2.9% versus 1.4%). No statistically significant relationship was observed in the change in knowledge between the presence of bleeding / thromboembolic events and no bleeding / thromboembolic events at 28 days and at 168 days. The comparison between change in adherence between the presence of bleeding events / thromboembolic and no bleeding / thromboembolic events did not yield statistically significant result at 28 days and 168 days.
