Background: This study aims to investigate the impact of planned hospital discharge program (discharge training, phone consulting, and home visiting) on complications of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting and on their return to hospital.

Methods: In this randomized-controlled, single-blind study, randomization was done based on three variables: age, gender, and education status. In total, 60 patients were included and were randomly divided into control and intervention groups as 30 patients in each group. Discharge program was applied to the intervention group. The patients were evaluated with home visits.

Results: Almost all of the intervention group patients had normal physical examination findings such as systolic and diastolic blood pressure, pulse, body temperature, bowel sounds, edema, use of triflow and lung sounds, and they experienced no complications such as persistent pain, despite resting and sublingual pills, palpitation with shortness of breath, persistent shortness of breath despite resting, increased body weight of more than 1 to 1.5 kg per day, body temperature more than 38.0 °C and inflammatory flow, flushing and swell in incision area. Unintended return back to the hospital in the intervention group was prevented in 54 of 59 patients and was requested for five patients. In the control group, 22 patients returned back to the hospital for the first time and five for the second time.

Conclusion: Our study results demonstrate that planned discharge program applied on patients with coronary artery bypass grafting is effective in the management of postoperative care and preventing complications and unintended returns back to the hospital.

Keywords : Consultation with phone; coronary artery bypass grafting; discharge education; home visit