Back

Assessing the recovery after cardiac surgery: Development and validation of the Fuwai-CRS (Fuwai-Cardiac Recovery Scale)

Sun, R.; Lin, S.; Jiao, Z.; Rao, C.; Su, X.; Hu, S.; Zhao, Y.; Zhang, H.; Shi, Q.; Liu, S.; Feng, W.; Cheng, Z.; Wang, X.; Zhou, C.; Wang, J.; Ling, Y.; Shen, Z.; Tian, H.; Zheng, Z.

2026-03-04 cardiovascular medicine
10.64898/2026.03.03.26347484 medRxiv
Show abstract

BackgroundCardiac surgery significantly improves clinical endpoints but imposes challenges in postoperative recovery. Assessing patient-reported outcome is crucial for optimal care. However, no cardiac surgery-specific tools currently exist to adequately capture postoperative recovery experience. ObjectivesTo develop and validate a recovery scale after cardiac surgery (Fuwai-CRS). MethodsThis study was conducted from May 2023 to December 2024, comprising: (1) a qualitative study (Cohort 1) enrolling postoperative patients of cardiac surgery and medical staffs to develop the draft scale through literature review, semi-structured interview and Delphi consensus; and (2) a single-center prospective validation study (Cohort 2) to finalize the scale and evaluate psychometric properties. ResultsIn Cohort 1, a 17-item draft Fuwai-CRS was generated based on literature review, semi-structured interview (40 patients and medical staffs) and a Delphi study (15 experts). In Cohort 2 (n=500), a 9-item Fuwai-CRS was finalized by data distribution assessment, hierarchical cluster and factor analysis, and its understandability, reliability, validity and responsiveness were found acceptable. ConclusionsThe Fuwai-CRS is a concise and valid tool for recovery assessment after cardiac surgery.

Matching journals

The top 6 journals account for 50% of the predicted probability mass.

1
PLOS ONE
4510 papers in training set
Top 11%
15.1%
2
Journal of Clinical Medicine
91 papers in training set
Top 0.1%
10.7%
3
BMJ Open
554 papers in training set
Top 2%
10.4%
4
Medicine
30 papers in training set
Top 0.1%
8.6%
5
Scientific Reports
3102 papers in training set
Top 22%
5.0%
6
Healthcare
16 papers in training set
Top 0.1%
4.1%
50% of probability mass above
7
JMIR Medical Informatics
17 papers in training set
Top 0.4%
3.2%
8
Cureus
67 papers in training set
Top 2%
2.5%
9
Open Heart
19 papers in training set
Top 0.5%
2.4%
10
The American Journal of Cardiology
15 papers in training set
Top 0.8%
2.1%
11
JMIR Research Protocols
18 papers in training set
Top 0.4%
2.1%
12
BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making
39 papers in training set
Top 1%
1.7%
13
International Journal of Cardiology
13 papers in training set
Top 0.3%
1.7%
14
Biology Methods and Protocols
53 papers in training set
Top 0.8%
1.7%
15
Heart
10 papers in training set
Top 0.5%
1.7%
16
DIGITAL HEALTH
12 papers in training set
Top 0.4%
1.7%
17
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
124 papers in training set
Top 4%
1.7%
18
PeerJ
261 papers in training set
Top 8%
1.5%
19
Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine
49 papers in training set
Top 2%
1.5%
20
Journal of the American Heart Association
119 papers in training set
Top 3%
1.3%
21
JMIR Formative Research
32 papers in training set
Top 1%
1.0%
22
BMC Cardiovascular Disorders
14 papers in training set
Top 1%
0.9%
23
Heliyon
146 papers in training set
Top 5%
0.8%
24
BMC Medical Education
20 papers in training set
Top 0.8%
0.8%
25
Frontiers in Physiology
93 papers in training set
Top 5%
0.8%
26
Frontiers in Medicine
113 papers in training set
Top 6%
0.8%
27
Computers in Biology and Medicine
120 papers in training set
Top 5%
0.7%
28
Biomedicines
66 papers in training set
Top 4%
0.7%
29
British Journal of Anaesthesia
14 papers in training set
Top 0.9%
0.7%
30
Journal of Medical Internet Research
85 papers in training set
Top 5%
0.7%