Effect of social networking education on blood glucose control and post-surgical infections after open heart surgery in diabetic patients

This Study aimed to examine the effect of social networking education on blood glucose control and post-surgical infections after open heart surgery in diabetic patients. Background. Cardiovascular surgery is one of the most common surgeries that is performed with the aim of increasing survival and improving the quality of life in diabetic patients.

This randomized clinical trial study was conducted on 120 diabetic patients (age range 18-60 years) who underwent open heart surgery at Shahid Rajaei Cardiovascular Research and Research Center. The participants were randomly divided into experimental (n=60) and control group (n=60). In the experimental group, posts were delivered to patients with educational content (such as nutrition education, blood sugar self-monitoring, and ...) on a daily basis for three months on the WhatsApp social network. Data were collected by a checklist consisting of three parts: demographic characteristics, fasting blood sugar (FBS) and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) of patients before and 3 months after the intervention.

In both experimental and control group, 55 percent were male and 45percent were female. The percent of patients with postoperative wound infection in the experimental and control groups was 5.0 and 3.3, respectively. After intervention, in the experimental group, the FBS and Hb1Ac median was significantly reduced compared to before the intervention (p<0.001). The levels of FBS and Hb1Ac before and after the intervention did not differ significantly between the experimental and control group.

There was no different between groups in terms of blood sugar control and wound infections after open heart surgery. Due to the easy access, lack of time and space limitations of using social networks, further studies with longer follow-up are recommended.