The Effect of Clinical Audit Process on the Implementation of Postpartum Intravenous Thromboembolism Prevention Guideline

Venous thromboembolism is one of the leading causes of death in patients during pregnancy and postpartum. Clinical audit is one of several programs to improve the quality of health services. This study aims to determine the effect of the clinical audit process on the implementation of postpartum venous thromboembolism prevention guidelines.

The present work was a quasi-experimental study before and after using the clinical audit method. A total of second- and third-year obstetrics and gynecology residents in hospitals affiliated with Jundishapur Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences in 2020 were enrolled in the study by the counting method. The intervention was performed in the form of five stages of clinical audit. The ways to complete and implement intravenous thromboembolism prevention guidelines by residents were evaluated using a researcher-made checklist by reviewing the records of 148 patients admitted to the postpartum ward. The collected data were analyzed using the McNemar test and paired t-test.

The mean total score of residents' performance in completing the form and implementing the guidelines before the intervention was 2.67±1.4, while after the intervention was 6.11± 1.36, showing a statistically significant difference (p<0.001). Therefore, a statistically significant difference was observed between the scores before and after the intervention in how to complete the form and implement the guidelines.

The results of this study indicated the positive effect of the clinical audit process on the performance of residents in completing the form and implementing the guidelines for the prevention of venous thromboembolism; thus, it seems that the implementation of this process can help improve the level of service to residents and nurses.