Abstract  

Background. One of the most important aspects of care and follow-up after coronary artery bypass graft surgery is treatment adherence program. As the long term success of the surgery depends on the treatment of adherence plan.

Aim. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of phone and SMS follow-up care on patients' treatment adherence after coronary artery bypass graft.

Method. This clinical trial was performed on patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery in the heart surgery unit in Tehran hospitals in 2014. In this study, 90 patients were selected purposively and allocated into telephone follow-up group (n=30), SMS follow-up group (n=30) and control group (n=30). Demographic and treatment adherence questionnaire were completed twice (before intervention and two months after the intervention). The telephone follow-up and SMS follow-up groups were given training and booklet before discharge. In telephone follow-up intervention, three calls a week was made for two months and the SMS follow-up group received text messages daily for two months. To analyze the data, Chi-square test, Fisher exact test, t-test and ANOVA, ANCOVA, and Bonferroni test were used.

Findings. There was no statistically significant difference between the telephone follow-up and SMS follow-up groups in terms of treatment adherence scores, before and after intervention. A statistically significant difference was seen between telephone follow-up and control groups (p<0.0001), and SMS follow-up and control groups (p<0.0001) in terms of treatment adherence scores, before and after the intervention.  

Conclusion. Both SMS and telephone follow-up are effective to improve treatment adherence in patients after coronary artery bypass graft. It is suggested to use these interventions for patient following coronary artery bypass graft.