Factors responsible for loss to follow up in a longitudinal study compaing coronary artery bypass surgery and percutaneous coronary intervention .

摘要

Follow up information of subjects enrolled in the Coronary Artery Revascularization study - at 6 and 18 months - was analyzed to determine whether certain factors were associated with loss to follow up attrition. Hispanic ethnicity, subject residences exceeding 100 miles from designated study sites, myocardial infarction, angina, cardiovascular disease, younger age, previous smoking, and elevated BMI were factors proven to be predictive of loss to follow up.;Approaches to reducing loss to follow up were also presented, and included: use of a patient navigation system, development of a tracking system, inclusion of a lead-in period, follow up individualization, emphasis of the significance of follow up, and contacting potentially non-compliant subjects more frequently.