Background: While warfarin and direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are used to manage thromboembolic events, they possess several features that impact adherence. Objective: To assess medication adherence and self-efficacy in patients receiving warfarin or DOAC treatment. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed at Ibn Al-Bitar Hospital in Baghdad from December 2022 to May 2023 on patients receiving either warfarin or DOACs. The Arabic version of the Adherence to Refills and Medications Scale (ARMS) questionnaire and the Self-Efficacy for Managing Chronic Disease 6-Item Scale (SES6C) questionnaire were used to assess adherence and self-efficacy. Results: 181 patients were enrolled in the study, of whom 56.9% received warfarin and 43.1% received DOACs. The mean ARMS score was 13.71, and 81.77% of the patients were adherent to anticoagulant therapy. There was a significant difference in adherence between the warfarin and DOAC groups. The mean SES6C score for the participants was 50.01. Patients in the DOAC group had significantly higher self-efficacy compared to those in the warfarin group. The adherence score correlated significantly with patients’ gender, education level, hospitalization and duration of anticoagulant use, while the SES6C score did not correlate with any of the independent variables. There was a significant negative correlation between self-efficacy scores and medication adherence scores. Conclusions: Patients receiving DOACs showed a higher self-efficacy to manage chronic diseases and lower medication adherence as compared to warfarin. Higher self-efficacy was associated with higher adherence to treatment.
End Stage Renal Disease is a well-known global public health problem. Maintenance hemodialysis is considered a life-saving treatment for patients with such disease. This treatment method that requires patients to be adherent to hemodialysis attendance, dietary and fluid recommendations as well as adherence to prescribed medications to ensure success. The aim of the current study was to assess adherence, perception, and counseling among hemodialysis patients to different modalities of treatment (fluid restriction, dietary recommendations, medications, and hemodialysis schedules). A cross-sectional study carried out on hemodialysis patients who attended to the dialysis centers at al- Karama teachi
... Show MoreWarfarin dosing is challenging due to a multitude of factors affecting its pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD). A novel personalised dosing algorithm predicated on a warfarin PK/PD model and incorporating CYP2C9 and VKORC1 genotype information has been developed for children. The present prospective, observational study aimed to compare the model with conventional weight-based dosing. The study involved two groups of children post-cardiac surgery: Group 1 were warfarin naïve, in whom loading and maintenance doses were estimated using the model over a 6-month duration and compared to historical case-matched controls. Group 2 were already established on maintenance therapy a
Background: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukins play important roles in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Genetic research has been employed to find many of the missing connections between genetic risk variations and causal genetic components. Objective: The goal of this study is to look at the genetic variations of TNF-α and interleukins in Iraqi RA patients and see how they relate to disease severity or response to biological therapy. Method: Using specific keywords, the authors conducted a systematic and comprehensive search to identify relevant Iraqi studies examining the genetic variations of TNF-α and interleukins in Iraqi RA patients and how they relate to disease severity or response to biolo
... Show MoreThe current research aims to identify the level of parental treatment methods tolerance, hostility, strictness, and warmth, as well as the level of self-efficacy among middle school students. Moreover, it aims to identify the correlation relationship between the variables of parental treatment methods and self-efficacy among middle school students. The research sample included (150) middle school students. For achieving the objectives of the current research, the researchers adopted a scale of parental treatment methods prepared by (Zughair, 2006), and a scale of self-efficacy prepared by (Youssef, 2016), which were applied in their final form to the research sample. The research reached the following results: parents use a low-level hos
... Show MoreThe study aimed to measure the phsycological tolerance and self-efficacy among the students of Baghdad university and knon the significant differences in psychological tolerance and self-efficacy according to the variables (Gender-Specialization)and the interaction between themas well as the study aimed to identify the strength and direction of the relationship between psychological tolerance and self-efficacy of the study sampleincluded asample of the current study(370) students from grades four ,the researcher used the measure of psychological tolerance and self-efficacy prepared by the researcher ,and the results showed that college students Generally have adegree of psychological tolerance and that there are statistically sig
... Show MoreBackground: Tubal ligation, recognized as a surgical intervention that ensures permanent contraception, has established itself as an option for women seeking a definitive solution for family planning. Objective: To assess the psychosexual implications of tubal ligation in a sample of women in Baghdad, Iraq. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted in a teaching hospital for 2 years, from the first of January 2022 to the end of December 2023, in which 203 women who underwent tubal ligation were included. Results: In the present study, we found that 158 (77.8%) had no depression, mild depression presented in 27 (13.3%), and moderate depression in only 15 (7.4%). While 163 (80.3%) of women did not suffer from anxiety, 32 (15.8
... Show MoreInflammatory bowel disease includes both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, is a chronic, progressive relapsing disease of gastrointestinal tract that require long-term treatment or maintenance therapy. Taking patient’s beliefs about the prescribed medication in consideration had been shown to be an important factor that affects compliance of the patient in whom having positive beliefs is a prerequisite for better compliance. The aim of the current study was to investigate and assess beliefs about medicines among a sample of Iraqi patients with inflammatory bowel disease and to determine possible association between these beliefs and some patient-specific factors.
This study is a cross-sectional study carried out o
... Show MoreObjectives: Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) is WNT/b-catenin pathway antagonist which plays a detrimental role in the development of diabetic retinopathy (DR). This research aimed to assess serum DKK-1 levels in diabetic patients who have and have not developed DR and, compare them with the control subjects finding out whether we can use it as an indicator for DR early diagnosis and to find out which one of the widely used two groups of antidiabetic treatments had the greater effect on this biomarker and hence on the progression of DR. Methods: The study participants were divided into two subgroups: First, 70 patients (36 male, 34 female) with type 2 diabetes mellitus, among them 35 patients diagnosed with DR and 35 with no evidence of DR, and s
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