Implementation of a nurse-monitored protocol in a Brazilian hospital: a pilot study with cardiac surgery patients

The aims of this article are to describe the implementation of a nurse-monitored protocol and the adherence to cardiac therapeutic regimen of 17 male patients after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. The protocol was developed to cover two recovery phases of the patients: during the hospitalization after CABG surgery and 6 months following hospital discharge. Follow-up included individual patient counseling through personal contacts and telephone calls. Adherence to therapeutic regimen (dietary counseling, walking program, body weight control, smoking cessation and pharmacological therapy) was self-reported. The results showed that patients reported high percentages of adherence to walking program (88.2%), smoking cessation (76.5%), dietary counseling (70.6%), and drug orientation (64.7%). However, at follow-up, there was no statistically significant difference between the group that reported adherence to medical regimen and the group that reported no adherence in use of lipid-lowering drugs (P=0.68), decrease of body mass index (P=0.28), and HDL-cholesterol level (P=0.07).