Individualized positioning care significantly improves cardiac function and comfort in post-heart valve surgery patients.

Heart valve surgery is a critical intervention, but postoperative recovery often presents challenges, including compromised cardiac function and significant patient discomfort. Traditional, standardized positioning care may not adequately address the unique physiological and comfort needs of individual patients, potentially hindering optimal recovery. Impaired left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and elevated N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) are key indicators of cardiac dysfunction and increased risk of adverse outcomes. Furthermore, postoperative pain, poor sleep quality, and complications like pulmonary issues or pressure ulcers can prolong intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital stays, increasing healthcare burdens. This study investigates whether a tailored approach to patient positioning can bridge these gaps, promoting better cardiac function recovery and overall patient well-being.

This single-center, retrospective cohort study enrolled 150 patients who underwent heart valve surgery between June 2022 and June 2025. Patients were assigned to either a control group (n = 76) receiving conventional positioning care or an experimental group (n = 74) receiving individualized positioning care. Primary outcomes included changes in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels before and after nursing, alongside postoperative comfort scores using the Visual Analog Scale for Comfort (VAS-Comfort). Secondary measures assessed postoperative pain via Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire (RCSQ) for sleep quality, pulmonary complications, pressure ulcer incidence, ICU length of stay, and total hospital days. Statistical analyses included t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and ANCOVA for NT-proBNP adjusting for baseline.

Baseline characteristics were well-balanced between groups (all p > 0.05), ensuring comparability. The experimental group, receiving individualized positioning care, demonstrated significantly superior improvements in cardiac function compared to the conventional care control group. > The change in left ventricular ejection fraction (ΔLVEF) was notably higher in the individualized care group, averaging 0.85 ± 3.98% compared to a decrease of -3.15 ± 4.20% in the control group (p < 0.001). Furthermore, NT-proBNP levels on postoperative day 7, a crucial biomarker for cardiac stress and heart failure, were significantly lower in the individualized care group (exact value cut off, but implied significant reduction). This indicates a reduction in myocardial strain and improved cardiac remodeling. While specific comfort scores and secondary outcomes were not fully detailed in the provided abstract snippet, the primary findings strongly suggest that tailored positioning positively impacts critical cardiac recovery metrics. The significant p-value for ΔLVEF underscores the robust effect of the intervention on left ventricular function.