Abstract 15006: The Associations Between Symptom Clusters and Quality of Life Trends Following Coronary Artery Bypass Surgeries in Taiwan

Objectives: Patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery (CABS) often experience multiple symptoms concurrently following surgeries. Quality of life (QOL) has been an important outcome measurement in cardiac patients. Little is known on correlations between symptom clusters and trends of QOL among CABS patients within three months in Taiwan. The aims of the study are to identify cluster subgroups based on eight commonly seen symptoms and examine how these identified symptom cluster subgroups influenced QOL over time. Methods: A prospective correlational design with repeated measurement was used. Symptoms were measured by the Cardiac Symptom Survey at 1 week post-operatively. The SF-36 was administered at baseline, 6 weeks and 3 months post-operatively. A two-stage cluster analysis was conducted to identify subgroups of patients based on their perceived severity of the eight symptoms. Results: A total of 223 subjects from 6 medical centers were included. The result of cluster analysis showed a best s...