The Effect on Bruising and Pain of Different Durations of Pressure Application Following Subcutaneous Heparin Injection to the Upper Arm

Anticoagulants are medicines that prevent blood from clotting as quickly or effectively as normal. Can be administered IV or subcutaneously. The main complications of heparin therapy are bleeding, thrombocytopenia and osteoporosis. Anticoagulants are classified as Vitamin K antagonist (VKA) (oral), Unfractionated heparin (UFH) (IV or subcutaneous), LMWHD (subcutaneous), Heparinoids (IV or subcutaneous), Fondaparinux (Subcutaneous), Oral factor Xa inhibitors, Parenteral direct thrombin inhibitors and Oral direct thrombin inhibitors. Subcutaneous administration of low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) may cause complications such as hematoma, bruising and pain at different injection sites. It is a goal of the nurse to reduce discomfort, anxiety, worry, refusal of treatment and lack of trust in the nurse due to bruising on the skin. Several studies have been conducted to investigate whether bruising and pain depend on injection sites; however, the results are conflicting and no clear and consistent conclusion has been reached. Subcutaneous heparin injection is a common nursing clinical intervention. Nurses often inject heparin subcutaneously and this action often causes some complications such as bruising, hematoma, pain and induration at the injection site. Bruising as a result of heparin injection increases patients' anxiety, decreases their confidence in the effectiveness of nurses and causes them to refuse the injection. This undesirable effect can be reduced by using appropriate technique and taking a few simple precautions. In the systematic review conducted by İnangil and Şendir (2017) to systematically review the studies on the prevention of ecchymosis, hematoma and pain associated with subcutaneous heparin injection; it was determined that the number of studies investigating other techniques (pressure, site selection, etc.) was insufficient, with the highest number of studies on injection time and cold application. As a result of the research, it was recommended that local pressure should be applied to the area after injection, and the abdominal region should be preferred especially in patients who are sensitive to pain, since pain intensity is higher in the thigh and arm region. Due to the lack of literature, there is no consensus regarding the duration of compression to reduce bruising and pain after LMWH application. Based on these, this study was planned to compare the pressure applied to the injection point for 10, 35 and 60 seconds after injection in terms of pain, bruising and development of ecchymosis and hematoma at the injection sites in patients using subcutaneous heparin in the upper arm.