Analysis of risk factors for bleeding events in anticoagulated patients

Abstract

Objective: to analyze the risk factors related to the occurrence of bleeding events in anticoagulated patients. Method: this is a retrospective cohort study based on documentary analysis. A total of 867 medical records of hospitalized patients were investigated in 2011 and 2012, with a sample of 79 patients who received continuous intravenous heparin sodium administration. To calculate the probability of a bleeding event based on the different risk factors, non-parametric statistical treatments and association measures were performed. Results: the study recorded 21.52% (n = 17) bleeding events. Among the 17 patients who had bleeding events, 94.11% had one or more risk factors, with a prevalence of: activated partial thromboplastin time greater than 100 seconds (88.24%); age greater than 60 years (70.59%) and arterial hypertension 64.71%. Patients with a high activated partial thromboplastin time presented a 9.29-fold higher risk for bleeding events (p = 0.0008). Conclusions: among the six risk factors analyzed, five had a positive association with bleeding. Nursing care based on the identification of risk factors prevents bleeding events, increasing safety in the use of anticoagulants and consequently improvement of the quality of nursing care.