Background: To explore the feasibility and superiority of applying the WeChat platform in a midterm follow-up of surgical repair for ventricular septal defects in infants.
Methods: Eighty-six infants with VSD who underwent surgical repair were divided into an outpatient follow-up group and a WeChat follow-up group. The clinical data, including complications, economic cost, time spent, loss to follow-up rate, and parents' satisfaction at the 3-month and 1-year follow-ups, were recorded and analysed.
Results: There was no significant difference in the incidence of post-operative complications between the two groups. Although the loss to follow-up rate in the WFU group was lower than that of the OFU group, the difference was not statistically significant. The economic cost and time spent in the 3 months and 1 year after discharge in the WFU group were significantly lower than those in the OFU group. One year after discharge, the PSQ-18 score of the WFU group was significantly higher than that of the OFU group.
Conclusion: Compared with outpatient follow-up, the WeChat platform at the midterm follow-up after surgical repair of VSDs in infants has the advantages of saving time and economic costs and improves parents' satisfaction.
Keywords: Follow-up; VSD; social media; surgery.