ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Anxiety and limited patient comprehension may pose significant barriers when informing elderly patients about complex procedures such as transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate the utility of medical graphics to improve the patient informed consent (IC) before TAVI. METHODS: In this prospective, randomized dual center study, 301 patients were assigned to a patient brochure containing medical graphics (Comic group, n = 153) or sham information (Control group, n = 148) on top of usual IC. Primary outcomes were patient understanding of central IC-related aspects and periprocedural anxiety assessed by the validated Spielberger State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), both analyzed by cognitive status according to the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). RESULTS: Patient understanding was significantly higher in the Comic group [mean number of correct answers 12.8 (SD 1.2) vs. 11.3 (1.8); mean difference 1.5 (95% CI 1.2-1.8); p < 0.001]. This effect was more pronounced in the presence of cognitive dysfunction (MoCA < 26) [12.6 (1.2) in the Comic vs. 10.9 (1.6) in the Control group; mean difference 1.8 (1.4-2.2), p < 0.001]. Mean STAI score declined by 5.7 (95% CI 5.1-6.3; p < 0.001) in the Comic and 0.8 points (0.2-1.4; p = 0.015) in the Control group. Finally, mean STAI score decreased in the Comic group by 4.7 (3.8-5.6) in cognitively impaired patients and by 6.6 (95% CI 5.8 to 7.5) in patients with normal cognitive function (p < 0.001 each). CONCLUSIONS: Our results prove beneficial effects for using medical graphics to inform elderly patients about TAVI by improving patient understanding and reducing periprocedural anxiety (DRKS00021661; 23/Oct/2020). Medical graphics entailed significant beneficial effects on the primary endpoints, patient understanding and periprocedural anxiety, compared to the usual patient informed consent (IC) procedure. Patient understanding of IC-related aspects was significantly higher in the Comic group, with a more pronounced benefit in patients with cognitive impairment (p for IC method and cognitive status < 0.001, respectively; p for IC method x MoCA category interaction = 0.017). There further was a significant decline of periprocedural anxiety in patients with and without cognitive impairment (p for IC method x measuring time point < 0.001; p for IC method x MoCA category x measuring time point interaction = 0.018).
ABSTRACT
AIM: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an important risk factor for perioperative morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Despite high clinical relevance, current guidelines lack clear recommendations on the optimal approach for patients with insufficiently treated COPD and urgent need for cardiac surgery. The aim of the present study was to analyze the efficacy of short-term pulmonary conditioning (PC) in this subset of cardiopulmonary patients. METHODS: Eighteen patients with urgent need for cardiac surgery were treated with 1 mg budenoside twice a day, 1.25 mg salbutamol four times a day and 15 mg ambroxol three times a day. On average, patients received pulmonary conditioning for 5.1 ± 2.1 days. Lung function was assessed before and after treatment. RESULTS: Pulmonary conditioning improved forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) by 16% (P<0.001). Predicted FEV1 increased from 48.3 ± 13.6% at baseline to 55.4 ± 16.1% after treatment (P<0.001). Total resistance was reduced from 0.933 ± 0.418 kPa·s/L to 0.631 ± 0.344 kPa·s/L after PC (P=0.004). The percentage of patients in GOLD stages III-IV was reduced from 55.6% at baseline to 27.8% after treatment. After surgery, patients needed mechanical ventilation for 2 ± 3.4 days. One patient (5.6%) received a tracheostomy and four patients (22.2%) developed pneumonia; 30-day mortality was 5.6%. CONCLUSION: Short-term treatment with budenoside, salbutamol and ambroxol significantly improved lung function parameters. If surgery can be delayed for several days, pulmonary conditioning should be considered for patients with insufficiently treated COPD.
