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QUESTION: Does a videotaped information intervention targeted at spouses of postoperative coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients reduce spousal distress and improve patient recovery?
Design
Randomised {allocation concealed}*, unblinded, controlled trial with 6 months of follow up.
Setting
3 hospitals in San Diego, California, USA.
Patients
296 patients (mean age 63 y, 76% men) who had first time CABG surgery without associated procedures (eg, heart valve repair) and their spouses (mean age 61 y). Couples were excluded if either the patient or spouse had previous CABG, serious medical conditions (eg, terminal cancer), were unable to speak English, or were taking antidepressants. Follow up was 83% at 6 months.
Intervention
93 spouses were allocated to a mastery tape, 101 to a coping tape, and 102 to a control condition. The mastery and coping tapes provided procedural information …
Footnotes
↵* Information provided by author.
For correspondence: Dr H I Mahler, Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA. hmahler{at}ucsd.edu
Source of funding: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.