The examination of the effect of virtual patient visits on stress response in post-coronary artery bypass graft surgery

The impact of virtual patient visits on stress response remains unknown. This study aimed to determine the effect of virtual visits on serum cortisol levels and state anxiety scores after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. The research was conducted as a pre-post controlled clinical study in the Cardiovascular Surgery Intensive Care Unit of an Education and Research Hospital between December 1, 2022, and March 1, 2023. Ethical approval was obtained before commencing the research (Approval no: 2022/221).Patients who had completed at least 12 hours after CABG surgery were engaged in a 20-30 minute video call program (Zoom) with their family members. The patients were evaluated one hour before the virtual visit (T0) and one hour after the virtual visit (T1). Serum cortisol levels were assessed using the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) method, and anxiety and pain levels were measured using a visual analog scale. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The average age of the patients was 62.80±9.13, with an average body mass index (BMI) of 27.62±4.47. Of the participants, 78.7% were male, 78.7% were married, and 75.4% had completed primary education. The T0 serum cortisol level was 36.50±15.69, and the T1 serum cortisol level was 34.93±15.37. The difference between these levels was not statistically significant (p>0.05). However, the state anxiety level scores were significantly different between T0 (3.75±3.31) and T1 (2.30±2.66) measurements (p=0.002) (p<0.05). There was a moderate positive correlation between serum cortisol levels and state anxiety scores at both T0 (p=0.001) and T1 (p=0.005) measurements. Comparing T0 and T1 measurements, it was found that 72% of the patients had a decrease in serum cortisol levels, while 23% experienced an increase. Additionally, 62% of the patients showed a decrease in anxiety levels, whereas 28% had an increase. In conclusion, virtual patient visits have a positive effect on stress levels in a significant portion of patients. Further large-scale studies should be conducted in different patient groups, and qualitative research should be carried out to explore the effects of virtual visits on patients.