The Impact of Nonpharmacological Interventions on Patient Experience, Opioid Use, and Health Care Utilization in Adult Cardiac Surgery Patients: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study.

Background: Despite pharmacological treatments, patients undergoing cardiac surgery experience severe anxiety and pain, which adversely affect outcomes. Previous work examining pediatric and nonsurgical adult patients has documented the effectiveness of inexpensive, nonpharmacological techniques to reduce anxiety and pain as well as health care costs and length of hospitalization. However, the impact of nonpharmacological interventions administered by a dedicated comfort coach has not been evaluated in an adult surgical setting.