Surgery In Taiwan Research Articles

Symptomatic pulmonary embolism following hip fracture: A nationwide study

IntroductionThis study evaluated the incidence of symptomatic pulmonary embolism (PE), subsequent mortality, risk factors, and the effects of pharmacological thromboprophylactic intervention following hip fracture surgery in Taiwan. Materials and methodsA nationwide study was conducted from February 2004 to September 2013. Hip fracture patients were placed into two groups: without symptomatic PE (control group) and with symptomatic PE (PE group). We analyzed the incidence of and risk factors for symptomatic PE, post-operative mortality rate, and effects of pharmacological thromboprophylactic intervention. ResultsWe identified 165,748 hip fracture patients. The 3-month cumulative incidence of post-operative symptomatic PE was 0.24% (n = 392). The cumulative 1-, 3-, and 6-month mortality rates were significantly higher in the PE group (16.1%, 23.0%, and 28.6%, respectively) than in the controls (3.3%, 6.7%, and 10.2%, respectively). Increased risk of post-operative symptomatic PE was associated with prior history of PE (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 40.00; 95% CI, 24.75–64.67; P < 0.001), female sex (adjusted OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.07–1.65; P = 0.009), older age (>75 years) (adjusted OR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.20–1.91; P < 0.001), and hemiarthroplasty (adjusted OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.01–1.51; P < 0.043). Pharmacological thromboprophylaxis significantly reduced the incidence of post-operative PE (adjusted hazard ratio, 4.54; 95% CI, 2.08–9.88; P < 0.001). ConclusionsThe incidence of symptomatic PE after hip fracture surgery was not low in Asian patients, and PE significantly decreased patient survival rates. Some groups were at higher risk for PE; in these instances, thromboprophylaxis, prompt diagnosis, and subsequent intervention are advised.

The increase in total knee replacement surgery in Taiwan: A 15-year retrospective study.

Total knee replacement (TKR) is considered as one of the most success among clinical interventions for patients with who suffering from knee osteoarthritis (OA). We sought to estimate the incidence of TKR using demographics, incidence rates, lengths of hospital stay, and costs from 1996 to 2010 by analyzing Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database. A total of 154,553 patients obtained primary TKR surgery between 1996 and 2010. The diagnosis code for knee OA and the procedure code for TKR were selected from the records. To compare the rate of TKR between covariables, we calculated the TKR risk ratios and 95% confidence interval (CI) of these variables (gender, age, age group, and primary diagnoses). A 2-tailed P-value of .05 was considered statistically significant. The statistical package SPSS version 20.0 (SPSS, Chicago, IL) was used to conduct all the statistical analyzes. We analyzed 154,553 TKRs performed by surgeons in Taiwan from 1996 to 2010. The overall crude incidence increased from 26.4 to 74.55 TKR per 100,000 inhabitants from 1996 to 2010. TKR incidence for the 70 to 79 years age group increased from 227 to 505 per 100,000 people from 1996 to 2010. The age-standardized rate ratios for TKR of women to men ranged from 2.5 to 3.0. The mean average length of stay in hospital was 15 days in 1996 and decreased to 8 days in 2010. During the study period, the adjusted mean cost per patient decreased from US$7485 to US$4827. Health expenditures for TKR were 5% of total National Health Insurance expenditure every year. Over the 15-year period, Taiwan's TKR incidence tripled, which is consistent with population ageing. Arthritis will be a major public health issue in the ageing population in the future.

Antibiotic susceptibility profiles of ocular and nasal flora in patients undergoing cataract surgery in Taiwan: an observational and cross-sectional study

ObjectiveTo investigate the conjunctival and nasal flora and the antibiotic susceptibility profiles of isolates from patients undergoing cataract surgery.DesignObservational and cross-sectional study.SettingA single-centre study in Taiwan.Participants128 consecutive patients precataract surgery.Primary...

Long-term outcomes of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support for postcardiotomy shock

ObjectiveExtracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a widely used technique for treating postcardiotomy cardiogenic shock (PCS); however, no study has compared the long-term outcomes of patients who receive ECMO support for PCS with those of the general population post cardiac surgery. MethodsA total of 1141 patients who received ECMO after cardiac surgery between 2000 and 2011 were identified by using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. For each patient, we matched 5 non-ECMO patients who had undergone cardiac surgery by using propensity scores calculated for age, sex, 12 comorbid diseases, Charlson score, hospital level, type of cardiac surgery, and year of index hospitalization. The outcomes included all-cause mortality, readmission for any cause, and medical expenditure. ResultsThe incidence of ECMO use after cardiac surgery in Taiwan was 1.91%. The ECMO group had a significantly higher risk of in-hospital mortality than did the non-ECMO group (61.7% vs 6.8%, odds ratio 22.34, 95% confidence interval 19.06-26.18). The risks of all-cause mortality and first readmission for any cause were greater in the ECMO group than that in the control group (P < .001, P < .001) in the first year, whereas no difference was observed after the first year of follow-up (P = .209, P = .474). Similar results were observed regarding the medical expenditure of admission after index admission discharge. ConclusionsPatients receiving ECMO for PCS had similar outcomes to those of the non-ECMO group after the first year of follow-up despite significantly poor outcomes during the in-hospital course.

Characteristics and Correlates of Increasing Use of Surgery in Taiwanese Cancer Patients' Last Month of Life, 2001-2010.

Surgery offers the potential to relieve symptoms for patients with cancer at the end of life (EOL) but at significant physiological and economic costs. However, the characteristics and correlates of surgery in last month of life (EOL surgery) of patients with cancer have not been comprehensively explored. This population-based study characterized EOL surgery use and identified its correlates. This retrospective cohort study examined administrative data among 339,546 Taiwanese cancer decedents, 2001 to 2010. We classified procedures according to their likely intent. Approximately 1 in 10 (11.44%, range: 11.08%-11.86%) patients underwent EOL surgery with an increasing utilization over time. The intention for EOL surgery was primarily palliative, followed by cancer-directed, nonmalignancy-directed, and diagnostic. EOL surgery for palliative intent increased whereas other intents decreased significantly over time. EOL surgery was more likely among those who were male, younger, and married; not diagnosed with hepatic-pancreatic or lung cancers; had no comorbidity or documented metastatic codes; and survived less than 1 year from diagnosis. The likelihood of EOL surgery use was higher for patients who received care in a teaching hospital with more acute care hospital beds and higher EOL care intensity. Rates of EOL surgery are lower in Taiwan than those reported in the United States. The increasing use of EOL surgery in Taiwan is primarily for palliative intent. Appropriateness of EOL surgery should be carefully evaluated to avoid underutilizing potentially beneficial, palliative-intent surgery and overutilizing cancer-directed and other surgical procedures, especially for physicians working in hospitals with abundant health care resources and a tendency to treat at-risk patients with cancer aggressively.

The incidence of symptomatic venous thromboembolism following hip fractures with or without surgery in Taiwan

BackgroundInformation on the incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) following hip fractures in Asia is rare. This study will investigate the epidemiology of symptomatic VTE in Taiwanese patients experiencing hip fractures. Methods and resultsWe used Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database to retrospectively identify patients (≧45years) who experienced hip fractures from 1998 to 2007 and were followed up for 3months after the discharge. Logistic regression analysis determined the independent risk factors of symptomatic VTE after the fractures. We identified 134,034 patients (mean age: 76.2±9.7years; female: 57.8%) who experienced hip fractures, 83.2% of whom underwent hip surgery. The overall pharmacological thromboprophylaxis rate was 2.7%. The mean length of stay was 11.3±7.9days. The 3-month cumulative incidence of symptomatic VTE was 77 events per 10,000 persons. Multivariate analysis showed that previous DVT, previous PE, varicose veins, cancer, heart failure, renal insufficiency, and older age were independent risk factors of developing VTE. ConclusionsThe incidence of symptomatic VTE after hip fractures is low in Taiwan. Patients rarely received pharmacological thromboprophylaxis following hip fractures. Universal thromboprophylaxis for patients experiencing hip fractures was not necessary in Taiwan, but it should be considered in high-risk populations.

Rivaroxaban in preventing venous thromboembolism after arthroplastic surgery in Taiwan

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is one of the severe complications of total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The incidence of VTE could be reduced if preventive antithrombotic medicines are used; however, the incidence of bleeding may increase. Rivaroxaban is a factor Xa inhibitor that prevents VTE after THA or TKA. This study is designed to confirm the efficacy and safety of rivaroxaban in Taiwan. This is a retrospective database study based on the data of 6996 patients provided by the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database from 2008 to 2012. The data included the number of prescription, the cost of prescription, and case number for patients treated with antithrombotic agents for the prevention or treatment of joint arthroplasty complications (including THA, TKA, partial hip arthroplasty, revision THA and TKA), and the incidence of thrombosis and hemorrhage from year 2008 to 2012. The overall postoperative VTE rate was 0.49%. Compared with other antithrombotic drugs, rivaroxaban and heparin analogs can reduce the percentage of thrombosis. We also found that the expenditure and hospitalization was less in the rivaroxaban group than in the heparin analogs group. Because some benefits of rivaroxaban were found in our study, further cost-effective and drug safety studies are warranted. It is important to consider the cost-effective principle for the use of antithrombotic drugs in preventing thromboembolic complications after total joint arthroplasty.

Professor Jang-Ming Lee: how far will the robotic-assisted surgery go?

Graduated from Medical School, and acquiring his PhD degree in the Medical Research Institute in National Taiwan University, Prof. Lee ( Figure 1 ) is now the chief and professor of surgery in the Thoracic Surgical Division of Surgical Department in National Taiwan University Hospital. He is one of the important pioneers in the development of minimal invasive surgery in thoracic space in Asia. He possesses comprehensive understanding of both surgery development and medical environment of Taiwan. He is deeply devoted in development and education of minimally invasive thoracic surgery especially in the complex procedures including minimally invasive esophagectomy, robotic surgery or peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM). He also actively participates in the editorial or review board in many distinguished international medical journals and has published more than 100 scientific papers. Elected as secretary in general of the thoracic society in 2013, he voices for the society to the government sector, policy makers, the patients and other healthcare stakeholders and leads the education of study for surgery in Taiwan. Due to his achievement in surgical spaces and thoracic education, he is now frequently invited for the lectures to share and to shape the future of the thoracic surgical field.

Ophthalmic plastic and orbital surgery in Taiwan

We describe in this paper the current status of ophthalmic plastic and orbital surgery in Taiwan. Data were collected from the Bureau of National Health Insurance of Taiwan, the Bulletin of the Taiwan Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Society, and the Statistics Yearbook of Practicing Physicians and Health Care Organizations in Taiwan by the Taiwan Medical Association. We ascertained that 94 ophthalmologists were oculoplastic surgeons and accounted for 5.8% of 1621 ophthalmologists in Taiwan. They had their fellowship training abroad (most ophthalmologists trained in the United States of America) or in Taiwan. All ophthalmologists were well trained and capable of performing major oculoplastic surgeries. The payment rates by our National Health Insurance for oculoplastic and orbital surgeries are relatively low, compared to Medicare payments in the United States. Ophthalmologists should promote the concept that oculoplastic surgeons specialize in periorbital plastic and aesthetic surgeries. However, general ophthalmologists should receive more educational courses on oculoplastic and cosmetic surgery.

The frequency of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia in Taiwanese patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass surgery

There are few studies on heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) reported from Taiwan and Asian countries. We conducted a prospective study to investigate the frequency of HIT in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass surgeries. A cohort of 54 patients was enrolled from January 01, 2010 to October 31, 2011. Patients' clinical information was obtained for 4T score classification. Plasma (2-4mL) was also collected before surgery and on Days 5 and 10 following heparin administration during the bypass procedure. This was tested for anti-heparin/PF4 antibodies and functional assay using flow cytometry (FC). The mean platelet count for this cohort followed the expected pattern in the postoperative setting. Seven of the 54 (13%) patients had positive antibodies assays before bypass surgery. This increased to 32% on Day 5 and was markedly elevated to 63% on Day 10 after surgery. Only one of the 54 patients (1.8%) was found to have both positive antibody assay and platelet activation, but no clinical HIT/thrombosis developed. Our study is the first report on the rates of HIT in the setting of cardiopulmonary bypass surgery in Taiwan and demonstrated no clinical HIT occurrence, despite the high frequency of HIT antibody in our cohort.

Factors associated with delayed pediatric hypospadias surgery in Taiwan: A population-based, nationwide analysis

Current guidelines recommend that hypospadias repair should be performed before age 18 months. This study aims to investigate the trends of surgical timing and to determine what factors are associated with age at surgery. The present study utilized a subset of the National Health Insurance Research Database, known as Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005, which contains the data of all paid medical benefit claims over the period from 1997 to 2007 for a subset of one million beneficiaries randomly drawn from the population of 22.72 million individuals in NHI program during any part of calendar year 2005. We analyzed claims data for all subjects with the diagnoses of hypospadias. Among 52,705 live male newborns, 218 were diagnosed with hypospadias and thus were included as subjects in our study. Among them, 89 received repair surgery. Approximately 60.6% of the study subjects received repair after the age of 18 months. Multivariate analysis showed that several factors were significantly associated with age at hypospadias surgery: specialty of clinics where first diagnosis was made; specialty of physician making the first diagnosis, age of physician making the first diagnosis; specialty of surgeon performing the surgery; number of years since surgeon's board certification; urbanization level of subject's residence; modality of surgery; concomitant cryptorchidism; concomitant prematurity and low birth weight; age at diagnosis; and number of well-baby clinic visits. This study addresses an important issue of delayed hypospadias surgery in Taiwan, which provides a potential opportunity for improvement in quality of care.

Patients' Perceptions and Expectations of Family Participation in the Informed Consent Process of Elective Surgery in Taiwan

This study investigated patients' perceptions and expectations of their families' participation in the informed consent process of elective surgery. This is a survey study. Anonymous questionnaires that were mailed to potential participants included a demographic data sheet and a scale, measuring patients' perceptions of themselves and their families' participation level in the informed consent process. A convenience sample of patients who had undergone surgery and had been discharged within 4 months from a medical center in southern Taiwan (n=1,737) were recruited. One hundred and forty-five recipients replied, gaining a response rate of 10.0%, and 120 provided complete data. The mean age of the participants was 56.0 years (range 20-85, SD=14.98), and more than half were female (54.2%). Twenty-one participants (17.5%) perceived having less family participation than their own participation in the surgery informed consent process, and 40% expected more family participation in the process. The mean scores of the self-rated participation level was significantly higher than that of the families (p < .001). Patients' expectations of family participation were significantly higher than their perceptions of family participation (p < .001). Eleven patients (9.2%) reported having more family participation than they expected. Participants received the most information about the disease during the informed consent process and the least information about alternatives to surgery. Age, gender, number of previous surgeries and admissions influenced the study participants' perceived level of participation in the informed consent process. This preliminary study demonstrates that patients' perceptions and expectations for family participation in the surgical informed consent process vary. Healthcare providers should be aware of patients' expectation to appropriately invite their family into the informed consent process.

Postoperative adverse outcomes in surgical patients with epilepsy: A population‐based study

People with epilepsy are more likely than healthy people to experience comorbidities and complications in various medical situations. However, the prevalence of postoperative complications, mortality, and use of medical resources in surgical patients with epilepsy has not been studied. The purpose of this study is to examine whether epilepsy is an independent risk factor for postoperative adverse outcomes of patients receiving major surgery. Retrospective cohort study using the National Health Insurance Research Database to identify patients with epilepsy who underwent major surgery in Taiwan between the years 2004 and 2007. For each case, four age- and sex-matched participants without epilepsy were included. Preoperative comorbidities in the 24 months before surgery were identified. Eight major postoperative complications, overall 30-day mortality, and in-hospital utilization of medical resources (including length of hospital stay, percentage of postoperative intensive care unit admissions, and in-hospital medical expenditures) served as the major outcome measurements. Comorbidities, status of receiving renal dialysis, teaching hospital status, types of surgery, and patients living in urban or rural areas were adjusted by multivariate logistic regression. A total of 13,103 participants with epilepsy and 52,412 without were included. Patients with epilepsy have significantly more preoperative comorbidities and demonstrated more risks of any postoperative complications (odds ratio 2.02, 95% confidence interval 1.90-2.14). Consumption of in-hospital medical resources was also significantly higher in patients with epilepsy, but no significant differences in postoperative mortality rates between the two groups were noted. Stroke was identified as the most significant postoperative complication for surgical patients with epilepsy. Patients, especially those with previous hospitalization or emergency visits due to the disease, confronted significantly higher postoperative complication rates, and consumed more in-hospital medical resources without differences in overall mortality rates. Further revision of health care standards to provide early recognition of postoperative complications and better management for surgical patients with epilepsy is needed.

Universal pharmacological thromboprophylaxis for total knee arthroplasty may not be necessary in low‐risk populations: a nationwide study in Taiwan

Thromboprophylaxis should be universally administered in major orthopedic surgery. However, epidemiology of venous thromboembolism (VTE) following major knee surgery in Asia is scarce. To describe the use of thromboprophylaxis and calculate the incidence and risk factors of symptomatic VTE following major knee surgery in Taiwan. We used Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database to retrospectively identify patients (≥45 years) who underwent major knee surgery from 1998 to 2007 and collected the medical records within 3 months after the discharge. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the risk factors of symptomatic VTE after the surgery. We identified 113 844 patients (mean age, 69.0 ± 7.7 years; female, 75.2%) receiving major knee arthroplasties. The mean length of stay was 9.1 ± 3.3 days. The overall pharmacological thromboprophylaxis rate was 2.2%. The 3-month cumulative incidence of procedure-related symptomatic VTE was 0.46% (95% CI, 0.42–0.50%). The median time to the first post-operation VTE was 7 days, with 85.4% occurring within 2 weeks after the discharge.Logistic regression analysis showed that previous VTE, malignancy, heart failure and neurologic disorder with extremity paralysis or pararesis were independent risk factors (P < 0.05) for symptomatic VTE following major knee arthroplasties. The thromboprophylaxis rate is low, which may be due to the very low incidence of symptomatic VTE after the surgery in Taiwan. Most symptomatic VTE occurred within 2 weeks after the surgery. Universal thromboprophylaxis for knee arthroplasties may not be necessary in Taiwan, but it should be considered in some high-risk populations.

Postoperative Adverse Outcomes in Intellectually Disabled Surgical Patients: A Nationwide Population-Based Study

BackgroundIntellectually disabled patients have various comorbidities, but their risks of adverse surgical outcomes have not been examined. This study assesses pre-existing comorbidities, adjusted risks of postoperative major morbidities and mortality in intellectually disabled surgical patients.MethodsA nationwide population-based study was conducted in patients who underwent inpatient major surgery in Taiwan between 2004 and 2007. Four controls for each patient were randomly selected from the National Health Insurance Research Database. Preoperative major comorbidities, postoperative major complications and 30-day in-hospital mortality were compared between patients with and without intellectual disability. Use of medical services also was analyzed. Adjusted odds ratios using multivariate logistic regression analyses with 95% confidence intervals were applied to verify intellectual disability's impact.ResultsControls were compared with 3983 surgical patients with intellectual disability. Risks for postoperative major complications were increased in patients with intellectual disability, including acute renal failure (odds ratio 3.81, 95% confidence interval 2.28 to 6.37), pneumonia (odds ratio 2.01, 1.61 to 2.49), postoperative bleeding (odds ratio 1.35, 1.09 to 1.68) and septicemia (odds ratio 2.43, 1.85 to 3.21) without significant differences in overall mortality. Disability severity was positively correlated with postoperative septicemia risk. Medical service use was also significantly higher in surgical patients with intellectual disability.ConclusionIntellectual disability significantly increases the risk of overall major complications after major surgery. Our findings show a need for integrated and revised protocols for postoperative management to improve care for intellectually disabled surgical patients.

Evolution and Progress of Pediatric Surgery in Taiwan : A Tale Encompassed with Longstanding Friendship from Japan and More(Special Lecture I)

Evolution and Progress of Pediatric Surgery in Taiwan : A Tale Encompassed with Longstanding Friendship from Japan and More(Special Lecture I)

Analysis of Medical Litigation Among Patients with Medical Disputes in Cosmetic Surgery in Taiwan

This study aimed to investigate the key factors in medical disputes (arguments) among female patients after cosmetic surgery in Taiwan and to explore the correlates of medical litigation. A total of 6,888 patients (3,210 patients from two hospitals and 3,678 patients from two clinics) received cosmetic surgery from January 2001 to December 2009. The inclusion criteria specified female patients with a medical dispute. Chi-square testing and multiple logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Of the 43 patients who had a medical dispute (hospitals, 0.53%; clinics, 0.73%), 9 plaintiffs eventually filed suit against their plastic surgeons. Such an outcome exhibited a decreasing annual trend. The hospitals and clinics did not differ significantly in terms of patient profiles. The Chi-square test showed that most patients with a medical dispute (p<0.05) were older than 30years, were divorced or married, had received operations under general anesthesia, had no economic stress, had a history of medical litigation, and eventually did not sue the surgeons. The test results also showed that the surgeon's seniority and experience significantly influenced the possibility of medical dispute and nonlitigation. Multiple logistical regression analysis further showed that the patients who did decide to enter into litigation had two main related factors: marital stress (odds ratio [OR], 10.67; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.20-94.73) and an education level below junior college (OR, 9.33; 95% CI, 1.01-86.36). The study findings suggest that the key characteristics of patients and surgeons should be taken into consideration not only in the search for ways to enhance pre- and postoperative communication but also as useful information for expert testimony in the inquisitorial law system.

Predictors and Patterns of Chronic Pain Three Months after Cardiac Surgery in Taiwan

Clinicians and researchers have a very limited understanding of how acute pain after cardiac surgery may develop into chronic pain. The aims of this study were to describe the pattern of pain during the first 3 months after cardiac surgery and to examine the predictors of surgery-related chronic pain. A prospective panel study was conducted to monitor changes in worst and average pain intensity before and during the first 3 months following cardiac surgery in a sample of Taiwanese patients. Fifty-three patients who underwent a midsternotomy rated pain intensity before surgery and at postoperative days 7, 10, 30, and 90. The participants also rated beliefs about opioid use, and their medical records were reviewed to document opioid use during the first week after surgery. The patients who reported chronic pain 90 days following surgery showed an unusual pattern of an increase in pain from 10 to 30 days after surgery. Higher worst pain intensity ratings at 30 days following surgery and more negative beliefs in opioid use were both associated with a greater likelihood of reporting chronic pain at 3 months. Patients reporting a pattern of increasing pain starting about 10 days after surgery and holding negative beliefs about opioid use are at risk of developing chronic pain and may require more careful monitoring and pain treatment. The possible benefits of interventions that minimize pain during the weeks after surgery and that alter negative beliefs about opioid use should be examined in future research.

Practice guideline adherence and health care outcomes – use of prophylactic antibiotics during surgery in Taiwan

To evaluate adherence to guidelines for prophylactic antibiotic use in total knee replacement (TKR) and total hip replacement (THR) procedures and to examine the associations between guideline adherence and health care outcomes. Using nationwide health insurance claims data, all adult inpatients undergoing TKR or THR procedures at teaching hospitals from 2002 to 2006, were included. Guideline adherence rates were assessed every year according to the national guidelines introduced in 2004. Multiple regression analyses with generalized estimating equations models were used to examine the relationships between the deliberate variables. The guideline adherence rates stably increased from 14.07% in 2002 to 28.34% in 2006. The 2006 dataset included 12 863 observations. The results revealed that guideline adherence was negatively associated with length of stay and health care expenses with beta = -0.0207 and -0.0087, respectively (P < 0.0001). The 30-day readmission rate was 1.54% among the patients seen in 2006, and it was significantly different between the two groups, with 0.90% of the adherence group and 1.82% of the non-adherence group being readmitted (P = 0.0002). The guideline adherence for prophylactic use of antibiotics is improving in Taiwan and is associated with a shorter length of stay, fewer medical expenses and lower 30-day readmission rates. Promoting evidence-based practice guidelines may be beneficial to patients and health care providers.

Gender differences in coping and anxiety in patients after coronary artery bypass graft surgery in Taiwan

BackgroundGreater use of coping strategies and lower anxiety levels may be related to positive outcomes after coronary artery bypass graft surgery; however, the relationship between them, including by gender, has not been examined in Taiwan.MethodsCross-sectional survey research design and purposive sampling were used in this study, for which 50 men and 50 women were recruited from a medical center in northern Taiwan.ResultsAfter coronary artery bypass graft surgery, both male and female patients used more problem-focused coping strategies than emotion-focused coping strategies. In comparison with men, women tended to use more blaming of self and had slightly higher scores on both state and trait anxiety.ConclusionClinicians need to be aware that the use of appropriate coping strategies can reduce patient anxiety, a finding that needs to be considered when designing effective interventions for these patients.