A Cross-sectional Study of Depression and Associated Factors in Pre- and Post-operative Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Patients

Introduction: Many patients face anxiety and depression after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft, which affects mortality, morbidity, and re-hospitalization. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the level of depression and associated factors in pre- and post-operative coronary artery bypass graft patients. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was conducted on open heart surgery patients in educational hospitals affiliated with Birjand University of Medical Sciences from April 2017 to December 2018. It was carried out on 101 patients who were hospitalized in the cardiac surgery ward of the hospital. Data collection tools consisted of a demographic characteristics form, a medical information survey of patients, and Beck Depression Inventory-II. Then, the collected data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 16) through Chi-Square, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, and Spearman’s correlation coefficient tests. The significance level was considered at P=0.05. Results: The majority of people did not have depression before the operation (40.6%); however, after the operation, the majority of them had a mild level of depression (42.6%). There was a statistically significant difference between the mean score of depression before and after the operation (P=0.001). There is a weak and significant direct correlation between the level of white blood cells and depression score before surgery (P=0.032, r=0.214). There was a weak inverse correlation between hemoglobin level (P=0.011, r=-0.253) and hematocrit (P=0.041, r=-0.203) with preoperative depression score. There was a weak inverse correlation between creatinine (P=0.001, r=-0.328) and blood urea nitrogen (P=0.048, r=-0.197) levels with postoperative depression scores. Conclusion: There was a statistically significant difference between the mean score of depression before and after the operation; accordingly, with the pre-operation evaluation, it is possible to identify the patients at risk of post-operation depression, and with preventive psychiatric counseling and psychological interventions, emotional stress can be reduced, thereby minimizing the economic and medical costs.