Outcomes and quality of life for cardiac surgery patients during COVID
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Surgical outcomes and quality of life for patients undergoing cardiac surgery before and during the COVID-19 pandemic
IRAS ID
291075
Contact name
Rachel Maishman
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Bristol
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 29 days
Research summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed how healthcare is provided to patients in the NHS and around the world. During the first wave of the pandemic elective cardiac surgeries were cancelled to reduce transmission of the virus, reduce the burden on ICU beds and other limited resources such as ventilators, and to allow for staff to be redeployed to other clinical areas.
As the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 declined, procedures were put in place to allow elective cardiac surgeries to restart. Patients with cardiovascular co-morbidities are more likely to suffer with severe COVID-19 disease and infection with SARS-CoV-2 in the perioperative period could have fatal outcomes so it is vital that patients are protected. Control measures put in place include self-isolation of patients pre-operatively, and reduced face-to-face contact between patients and healthcare professionals by replacing routine appointments with so-called 'telemedicine'. However, the effectiveness of ‘telemedicine’ in monitoring of cardiac surgery patients is still being evaluated, and may not be suitable for high-risk patients.
Similarly, the pandemic has also forced changes to how clinical studies are conducted. Many studies have introduced, or are introducing, procedures for consenting patients remotely and conducting follow-up assessments by phone or videocall. The impact of this on recruitment and retention of clinical trial participants is unknown.
This study will use data collected as part of the OMACS study to determine whether these clinical changes have any effect on patient outcomes and quality of life after cardiac surgery and also investigate whether there is an impact on clinical study recruitment and retention.
REC name
North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 2
REC reference
22/NS/0015
Date of REC Opinion
26 Jan 2022
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion