فهرست نشریات علمی دسترسی آزاد ایران

BACKGROUND: Despite new anticoagulants’ developments, warfarin is still one of the mostcommonly used medicines, particularly in the cardiovascular system. One of the significant challengeswith warfarin is the prevalence of dangerous side effects such as bleeding and drug and foodinteractions, which can negatively affect patients if not adequately controlled. As health‑care teammembers, nurses have a crucial role in prescribing this medicine and educating patients. In thisregard, this study was conducted to determine the knowledge and practice of nurses working in thecardiovascular wards regarding warfarin.MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross‑sectional, descriptive study, knowledge and practiceof 239 nurses working in the cardiovascular wards of teaching hospitals affiliated to Iran Universityof Medical Sciences have been investigated using European Cardiovascular Nurses Knowledgequestionnaire on anticoagulants and the checklist for high‑risk drugs safety instructions. The samplingwas performed through the stratified sampling method with proportional allocation. Data were analyzedusing the SPSS software version 16 through descriptive and inferential statistics (independent t‑test,one‑way analysis of variance, and Pearson correlation coefficient) (Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).RESULTS: The mean scores of knowledge (18.51 ± 3.87) and practice (10.53 ± 2.12) wereslightly higher than the median, and the lowest mean score was related to knowledge on druginteractions (7.62). The practice had a statistically significant relationship with knowledge (P ˂ 0.001).Regarding demographic variables, there was a statistically significant relationship between nurses’knowledge and the education level (P = 0.009) and nurses’ practice and age (P = 0.022), workexperience (P = 0.032), and work experience in cardiovascular wards (P = 0.036).CONCLUSIONS: Based on the findings of this study, the knowledge of nurses working in thecardiovascular wards about warfarin was not sufficient, and their practice was of poor quality. Nurses’lack of knowledge and improper practice can jeopardize drug safety in patients and cause seriousside effects such as bleeding. Proper training of nursing students and nurses about warfarin as ahigh‑risk drug, its side effects, and drug‑food interactions, and the emphasis on patient education inpatients receiving this medicine can effectively reduce the incidence of side effects.