Key result
Medication adherence significantly improved over the first six months following coronary artery bypass grafting, with the mean ARMS score decreasing from 13.24 at three months to 12.85 at six months.
Why the study?
Medication adherence is critical following cardiac surgery, as nonadherence may compromise recovery and long-term outcomes, but its determinants post-CABG required evaluation.
Cohort (n=97)
Yes
Medication adherence naturally improves over the first six months following CABG, with male patients and those with diabetes showing higher adherence levels.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Adherence assessment may aid CABG recovery; hypothesis-generating associations leave causal roles open for validation.
Introduction Medication adherence is a critical component of postoperative care in cardiac surgery patients. Nonadherence may compromise recovery and long-term outcomes. This study aimed to measure medication adherence at three and six months postoperatively and examine its association with demographic and clinical factors among patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in Cyprus. Materials and methods This prospective multicenter study was conducted in two private hospitals and one public hospital in Cyprus between September 2022 and April 2023. A total of 97 adult patients who underwent elective CABG and completed follow-up assessments were included in the final analysis. Medication adherence was evaluated at three and six months postoperatively via structured telephone interviews using the Adherence to Refills and Medications Scale (ARMS). Demographic and clinical data were collected from medical records and preoperative interviews. Non-parametric tests (Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis) were applied to examine adherence over time and its associations with demographic and clinical factors. Results The ARMS score significantly decreased from 13.24 (±1.34) at three months to 12.85 (±1.16) at six months (median: 13.00 to 12.00; p=0.012), indicating improved medication adherence over time. The proportion of patients with high adherence increased from 37.1% at three months to 50.5% at six months. Analysis of demographic and clinical factors showed that male gender (p=0.043) and the presence of diabetes mellitus (p=0.025) were significantly associated with higher adherence levels at six months. Discussion This study demonstrated a significant improvement in medication adherence over the first six months following CABG, particularly among male patients and those with diabetes mellitus. The improvement occurred in the absence of structured interventions, suggesting that surgery may serve as a motivational trigger for behavioral change. However, the persistence of moderate adherence highlights the need for long-term, patient-centered strategies to support sustained medication adherence in this population.
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Alexandrou et al. (2025) conducted a cohort in Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) (n=97). Time post-CABG (6 months) vs. Time post-CABG (3 months) was evaluated on Medication adherence assessed by the Adherence to Refills and Medications Scale (ARMS) score (p=0.012). Medication adherence significantly improved over the first six months following coronary artery bypass grafting, with the mean ARMS score decreasing from 13.24 at three months to 12.85 at six months.
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