Advantages of an abdominal anticoagulant subcutaneous injection procedure based on a personal digital assistant and positioning card system: A clinical trial with a historical control cohort

Our aim in this study is to investigate the advantages of a mobile personal digital assistant (PDA)-based anticoagulant abdominal injection positioning card in the subcutaneous injection process of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH). This was a historical control study. Convenience sampling was used to include 210 patients diagnosed with venous thromboembolism who received dalteparin sodium (Fragmin) injections in our department between January 2021 and December 2022. Patients were categorized into the control group and the experimental group based on the time period before and after the implementation of the PDA-based anticoagulant abdominal injection positioning card that was developed by the information research and development department of our hospital. The control group consisted of 105 patients treated before the introduction of the PDA-based card (January to December 2021), while the experimental group comprised 105 patients treated after its introduction (January to December 2022). Patients in the control group used subcutaneous injection positioning cards made of paper to determine injection sites, while those in the experimental group used the PDA-based cards to determine injection sites. Outcome measures, including the incidence of subcutaneous bleeding, time spent on the subcutaneous injection procedure, and patient satisfaction, were compared between the two groups. The incidence of subcutaneous bleeding was 5.59% in the experimental group vs. 5.61% in the control group, with no statistically significant difference between the two groups (p > 0.05). The time required for the subcutaneous injection was significantly shorter in the experimental group (63.11 ± 3.59 seconds) than in the control group (83.38 ± 6.96 seconds) (p < 0.05). The patient satisfaction rate was higher in the experimental group (94.3%) than in the control group (80.0%) (p < 0.05). Use of the PDA-based anticoagulant abdominal injection positioning card to determine the abdominal subcutaneous injection site for LMWH does not increase the occurrence of adverse reactions of subcutaneous bleeding, and can ensure the accuracy of medication use and the safety of medication for patients, reduce the time of nursing operations, optimize the nursing process, and improve patient satisfaction.