The Effectiveness of Remote Monitoring and Supervision on Medical Adherence of Patients Underwent Heart Bypass Surgery to Prevent Infection or Anxiety of Being Infected with SARS-CoV-2 - A Pilot Study

The rapid worldwide emergence of the SARS-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the cause of COVID-19, has resulted in a global health emergency. It has been shown that the rate of mortality is significantly higher among patients with preexisting conditions, including those with heart failure. Therefore, at this time, special healthcare should be adopted for patients with heart diseases or those who underwent heart bypass surgery to reduce their infection rate or anxiety of being infected with SARS-CoV-2. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of remote monitoring and supervision on medical adherence of patients who underwent heart bypass surgery to reduce their infection rate and stress of being infected with SARS-CoV-2.

The study was of a quasi-experimental type with control group. The participants were 10 patients with coronary artery bypass graft surgery who assigned into two groups of intervention (n=5) and control (n=5).  The data were collected using demographic questionnaire, Beigi diet adherence questionnaire (2012), a researcher-made questionnaire for evaluation of the preventive measures to combat with SARS-CoV-2 infection, and a COVID-19  Anxiety questionnaire developed by the researcher. The analysis of data was performed by independent t-test and chi-square (x2) using SPSS software. A.

Our results showed no significant difference before intervention between two groups, however after 10 sessions of educational intervention, significant changes (p ≤0.005) were observed in terms of adherence to prescribed medications and dietary regimen, physical activity as well as willingness to follow care advice, between intervention and control group. Moreover, patients who received educational interventions had significantly low anxiety scores.

According to the findings, at the current critical juncture in the worldwide spread of COVID-19, providing remote monitoring and supervision on medical adherence could essentially be useful for patients with heart failure or those with other preexisting conditions who are extremely at risk.