Introduction:Patients with mechanical heart valve need anticoagulant therapy to prevent thrombotic events. The treatment interacts with some foods and drugs. The aim was to evaluate the effect of self-management program on self-efficacy and medication adherence in patients with mechanical heart valve. Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial. eighty eligible patients, with the ability to read and speak in Farsi, aged between 15 to 60, were included in the study from the cardiac surgery clinic in Imam Khomeini hospital affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences (Tehran, Iran) and randomly allocated to intervention and control groups. The participants had no history of psychiatric disorders, had undergone valve replacement surgery at least one year before the study, and were being treated with Warfarin. The intervention was a combination of 2 one-hour selfmanagement education via small groups with 3 to 5 members, self-management educational booklets, and weekly call follow-ups for 8 weeks about 10-15 minutes. The control group received no intervention. Self-efficacy was the primary outcome and medication adherence, Prothrombin Time (PT), and International Normalized Ratio (INR) were secondary outcomes. Data were analyzed using SPSS13. Results: Although the mean of self-efficacy and medication adherence, PT, and INR values were not different between the two groups at baseline, they improved significantly following the program. Conclusion: Self-management program had a positive effect on self-efficacy and medication adherence of patients with mechanical heart valve.Citation: Javan L, kazemnejad K, Nomali M, Zakerimoghadam M. Effect of self-management program on self-efficacy and medication adherence in patients with mechanical heart valve: a randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Because of the chronic nature of Heart Failure (HF), low Quality of Life (QoL) and poor self-care are prevalent among patients with HF. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of illness perception correction- based educational program on QoL,and self- care in patients with HF. Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, 78 eligible patients were included in the study from Rajaei Heart Center (Tehran, Iran) and randomly assigned into intervention and control group with 1:1 allocation ratio. The intervention was a combination of illness perception correction- based education program (30- minute sessions over 3 consecutive days) and 10-minute phone calls made once a week in the course of 8 weeks. The control group received usual care. The primary outcome was quality of life and secondary outcomes were self- care and illness- perception which were measured at baseline and at the end of the study. SPSS version 13 was used for the analysis. Results: Out of 76 eligible patients, 70 patients with HF finished the study. Although the mean of quality of life, self-care, and illness perception were not different at baseline, QoL (45.2 (8.3) VS 66.8 (15.4); P<0.001), self-care (18.5 (4.5) VS 37.1 (7.2); P<0.001), and illness- perception (183.6 (8.4) VS 151.2 (24.5); P<0.001) improved following the program in the intervention group in comparison to the control group. Conclusion: According to the study findings, this program can be applied by nurses for patients with HF as a discharge plan in order to improve their QoL, self-care, and their illness perception.

BackgroundPatients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) experience major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) following primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Although the relationship between time to treatment (eg, door-to-balloon time, symptom onset-to-balloon time, and symptom onset-to-door time) and 1-month all-cause mortality was assessed previously, its relationship with in-hospital MACEs and the effect of some clinical characteristics on this relationship were not considered. Furthermore, previous studies that were conducted in developed countries with a different quality of care cannot be applied in Iran, as Iran is a developing country and the studies were not performed according to the 24/7 primary PCI service registry.ObjectiveThe objective of this study protocol is to determine the relationship between time to treatment and in-hospital MACEs.MethodsThis cross-sectional study will take place at the Tehran Heart Center (THC), which is affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) in Tehran, Iran. Data related to patients with STEMI, who underwent primary PCI between March 2015 and March 2019, that have been prospectively recorded in the THC’s 24/7 primary PCI service registry will be analyzed. The study outcome is the occurrence of in-hospital MACEs. Data analysis will be conducted using SPSS for Windows, version 16.0 (SPSS Inc). We will perform chi-square tests, independent-samples t tests, or the Mann-Whitney U test, as well as univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression with a significance level of less than .05 and 95% CI for odds ratios.ResultsFrom March 2015 to September 2017, 1586 patients were included in the THC service registry, consecutively. We will conduct a retrospective analysis of this registry on patient entries between March 2015 and March 2019 and data will be analyzed and published by the end of 2019.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first observational study based on the 24/7 primary PCI service registry in Iran. The findings of this study may reveal current problems regarding time to treatment in STEMI management in the THC. Results from this study may help determine appropriate preventive strategies that need to be applied in order to reduce time-to-treatment delays and improve patients’ outcomes following primary PCI in the setting of STEMI at the THC and similar clinical centers.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/13161

BackgroundPatients with heart failure (HF) reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) have symptoms that are more severe and experience a higher rate of hospitalization compared with HF preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) patients. However, symptom recognition cannot be made by patients based on current approaches. This problem is a barrier to effective self-care that needs to be improved by new self-monitoring instruments and strategies.ObjectiveThis study describes a protocol for the self-monitoring daily diaries of weight and shortness of breath (SOB) based on the traffic light system (TLS). The primary objective is to compare the self-care between the intervention and control group. Comparison of HF knowledge, HF quality of life (HFQOL), and all-cause hospitalization between the 2 groups are the secondary objectives.MethodsA single-blind randomized controlled trial is being conducted at the HF clinic at Tehran Heart Center (Tehran, Iran). Sixty-eight adult patients of both genders will be enrolled during admission to HF clinic. Eligible subjects will be assigned to either the intervention or control group by a block balanced randomization method. Baseline surveys will be conducted before random allocation. Participants in the intervention group will receive an integrated package consisting of (1) HF self-care education by an Australian Heart Foundation booklet on HF, (2) regular home self-monitoring of weight and SOB, and (3) scheduled call follow-ups for 3 months. Patients in the control group will receive no intervention and they only complete monthly surveys.ResultsThis study is ongoing and is expected to be completed by the end of 2018.ConclusionsThis is the first trial with new self-monitoring instruments in Iran as a low and middle-income country. If the findings show a positive effect, the package will be applied in different regions with the same health care status.Trial RegistrationIranian Registry of Clinical Trials IRCT2017021032476N1; https://en.irct.ir/trial/25296?revision=25296 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/73DLICQL8)International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)PRR1-10.2196/9209