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Cardiac Surgery during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The CardiacCOVID Study

We partnered with Professor Julie Sanders and Barts Health NHS Trust to study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients undergoing cardiac surgery during the three UK lockdowns

A graphic showing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on recovery from cardiac surgery over time
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on recovery from cardiac surgery over time

 

CardiacCOVID was a prospective study exploring health-related quality of life (EQ-5D-5L), event-related distress (IES-R), and depression (CES-D) after cardiac surgery during the three COVID-19 lockdowns imposed in the UK. Overall, 253 patients completed the above-mentioned questionnaires at baseline, 1 week after discharge, then 6 weeks, 6 months and 12 months after surgery. While EQ-5D-5L values were similar across all cohorts, those who underwent surgery during Lockdowns 2 and 3 had higher IES-R scores at 1 year and higher IES-R and CES-D baseline scores, respectively. Generally, increased distress, worse depression, and poorer HRQoL were observed in women.

The study was led by Prof. Julie Sanders, Director of Clinical Research at St Bartholomew's Hospital and Clinical Professor of Cardiovascular Nursing at Queen Mary University London. Our patient charity provided patient representation on the Steering Group, patient members of the PPI group and co-authorship of three publications.

Prof. Julie Sanders at Barts Hospital talks about about the importance of effective patient engagement in clinical research and how the CardiacCOVID study benefitted from this.