Valvular & structural heart disease
Effects of a preoperative psychological expectation-focused intervention in patients undergoing valvular surgery - the randomized controlled ValvEx (valve patients’ expectations) study
Authors' conclusion
The ValvEx study is the first multicentre study investigating the expectation-optimizing preoperative intervention in heart valve patients. The implementation of the EXPECT intervention seemed to optimize outcomes after heart valve surgery for certain patients, such as patients with a high need for information. It is possible that there were no direct effects of the EXPECT intervention because the intervention dose was too low. These preliminary findings need to be corroborated by larger multicenter trials. Trial registration The study was preregistered at ClinicalTrials (identifier: NCT04502121, https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04502121).
Study context
- Population
- Patients undergoing heart valve surgeryrandomized after a baseline assessment
- Participants
- 89 patients
- Comparison
- Standard medical care (SOC) vs SOC plus psychological expectation-focused intervention (EXPECT)
- Primary endpoint
- Illness-related disability (Pain Disability Index, PDI)
- Follow-up
- Evening before surgery, 4 to 6 days and 3 months after surgery
Methodological detailsmulticentre
- Multicentre
Primary result
As reported in the abstract
- No general effects observed for the EXPECT intervention over time on the primary outcome and the secondary outcomes
- P ≥ .167
Secondary outcomes
| Outcome | d | P value |
|---|---|---|
| Anxiety, patients with a higher need for information (moderation by need for information) · evening before surgeryLess anxious with EXPECT | 0.314 | P = 0.020 |
| Restriction in quality of life, patients with a higher need for information (moderation by need for information) · 4 to 6 days after surgeryLess restricted with EXPECT | 0.464 | P = 0.005 |
Original publication
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