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The article by Frazer (2013) is related to the condition known as heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT), which is an autoimmune reaction causing a dearth of platelets (=thrombocytes) in an individual’s blood due to the use of the drug heparin. The article briefly presents a case in which a patient was suspected of having HIT after the administration of heparin. The author then provides some information on HIT, writing about the following: when HIT may take place, factors that predispose HIT occurrence, similar drugs which may also be related to this condition, diagnosing HIT in patients, the thrombosis as the most common complication of HIT, and HIT management. The article also includes three questions pertaining to the topic, together with the answer key and the rationale for the answers (Frazer, 2013).
The Type of Article
The article includes a succinct summary of a case, thus including a case study. On the whole, however, the work by Frazer (2013) is an educational article that provides general information about HIT.
The Target Audience
The target audience of the article by Frazer (2013) is, clearly, nursing students who need to learn more about HIT. The article, however, can be used by any individuals who need to advance their knowledge of medicine, for instance, by younger students of medicine. Still, the article is written primarily for nursing students, for it is published in a journal for nurses and provides the data that is most essential for nurses (without, for instance, going into details pertaining to the molecular mechanism using which the heparin affects a patient’s condition).
Is the Article Easy to Read?
To the author of the current paper, the article by Frazer (2013) was rather easy to read. This is due to the fact that the text is written in quite a simple language, is not overloaded with terms the understanding of which requires advanced knowledge e.g. in molecular biology, and describes HIT and the most important issues related to it in a simple yet effective manner.
What Was Learned from the Article?
The author of this paper already had had some basic knowledge pertaining to HIT, but the article by Frazer (2013) provided some additional insights into this medical condition. For instance, it was learned that HIT should be suspected in patients who were previously administered heparin in cases when the thrombocytes count is 30-50% decreased from the values obtained before administering the drug, even if these values are within the normal platelet count range (which is 150,000-450,000 thrombocytes for every microliter of blood) (Frazer, 2013). The new information also included the fact that testing for antibodies may serve as an additional confirmation of HIT, but that there are many patients whose blood tests are positive for HIT antibodies even when these patients are not suffering from clinical HIT (Frazer, 2013). After reading the article, it also became known to the author of this paper that the thrombocytopenia caused by heparin is only moderate in most cases, and that the thrombocyte count very seldom falls to values lower than 20,000 platelets per a microliter of blood (Frazer, 2013).
How the Information Can Be Used in Clinical Practice
The data supplied by Frazer (2013) can easily be utilized in clinical practice. For instance, the above-mentioned fact about the levels of platelet count which should be a cause for HIT suspicion can prove very useful while monitoring the patients’ blood tests. The information pertaining to the factors that predispose individuals to HIT will also be of use, for the presence of these factors will mean that platelet count will need to be more closely monitored. The fact that HIT may be complicated by thrombosis is also paramount, for it significantly affects the treatment and makes the nurse aware that the patient taking heparin should also be monitored for the symptoms and signs of thrombosis – such as unilateral calf swelling, which may occur due to deep vein thrombosis (Frazer, 2013).
Is the Article Evidence-Based?
The work by Frazer (2013) is evidence-based. This is clear from the use of in-text referencing in the places where the information is not limited to the general observations pertaining to the topic. For instance, the statement about the thrombosis being one of the most common complications of HIT that may occur before the number of thrombocytes falls is referenced, and this statement was taken from an academic source; and at least some of the sources cited in Frazer (2013) are peer-reviewed journal articles.
Does the Article Leave the Reader Wanting to Know More?
The article provides basic information about the subject that may be sufficient for a beginning nursing student. However, it also mentions a number of phenomena which it would be interesting to learn more about. For instance, it is mentioned that women are at a higher risk of having HIT (Frazer, 2013), and it is not explained why, so a reader might be curious to find it out. Another example: the question #2 asks about symptoms or signs which might indicate HIT (Frazer, 2013); it may stimulate the reader to think more about the symptoms or signs which might appear as a result of HIT.
Conclusion
Therefore, it should be stressed that the article by Frazer (2013) supplied an overview of HIT, offering some basic but important information about it, and demonstrated an example of HIT by providing a brief summary of a case. The author of this paper learned some facts about HIT, such as when HIT should be suspected, which tests could help detect it, and how serious the dearth of platelets in patients with HIT usually is. The article also proposed some insights that might be used in the future clinical practice by the author of this paper.
Reference
Frazer, C. A. (2013). Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. MEDSURG Nursing, 22(6), 397, 399.
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