ASSESSMENT OF HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY-OF-L IFE 2 YEARS AFTER CORONARY-ARTERY BYPASS-SURGERY

BACKGROUND: The determinants of quality of lire after coronary artery surgery in well defined health care populations are still incompletely understood. The aim of the present study was to assess the health rel ated quality of life associated with coronary artery bypass surgery as performed in a tertiary public hospital, and also to investigate its association with clinical variables. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All survivo rs of a first coronary artery bypass grafting operation performed duri ng a calendar year in a single center (100 patients) were included for assessment two years after surgery, Assessment included a review of t he clinical records, a structured clinical interview and the administr ation of three questionnaires of perceived health (Nottingham Health P rofile, Duke Activity Status Index and SF-36 Health Survey). RESULTS: The mean scores of the administered questionnaires corresponded to a m oderate overall impairment of perceived health, with wide individual v ariations. Chronic stable postoperative angina pectoris (28% of patien ts), worse clinical functional grade (either due to angina or to other s causes), comorbidity (51% of patients) and female sex were significa ntly associated with worse scores. CONCLUSIONS: in the study populatio n, postoperative angina, impairment of the clinical functional grade ( due to angina or to other conditions), and female gender were the majo r determinants of impaired health related quality of life after corona ry artery bypass surgery. As such determinants are associated with ana tomoclinical variables in the population undergoing coronary bypass su rgery and also with perioperative variables, appropriate effectivity s tudies appear to be indicated for the assessment of this surgical proc edure.