Abstract

Background: Cardiac catheterization (CC) is an invasive procedure used to diagnose and treat coronary artery disease (CAD). A type of CC used to diagnose and treat CAD is percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). It may lead to many complications after the removal of the femoral arterial sheath, which may contribute to morbidity and mortality and increase the patient's length of stay and hospital costs. Study Aim: The present study aimed to design and evaluate clinical guideline for removing the femoral arterial sheath on reduction of complications in patients after PCI.Methods: A randomized controlled trial (block randomization), post-test only, was conducted at Al-Najaf AL Ashraf City/ AL-Najaf Center for Cardiac Surgery and Cardiac Catheterization between (10 th August 2022 to 17th July 2023). A non-probability (homogenous purposive sample) of (90) patients are involved after PCI (45 patients for each the study and control group). The study group exposed to designed clinical guideline. While, the control group exposed for usual nursing care provided for patients in CCU. In both groups, the relevant complications including hematoma, bleeding, ecchymosis, back pain, and vasovagal reaction.Outcomes: The study results indicated that there is a reduction in all complications (hematoma, bleeding, ecchymosis, back pain, and vasovagal reaction) for patients after femoral arterial sheath removal in the study group compared with those patients in the control group. Conclusion: The study has been concluded that the using of designed clinical guideline for femoral arterial sheath removal for patients after PCI is an effective approach in reduction of complications (hematoma, bleeding, ecchymosis, back pain, and vasovagal reaction). Recommends: Based on the results of the present study, using a designed clinical guideline regarding femoral arterial sheath removal in clinical practice is recommended for reducing complications.