2014/05/26 by Cynthia Feltner, Christine D. Jones, Crystal W. Cené +7 · 2 citations
Medicine · Health Professions · Engineering · Nursing · #Heart Failure Treatment and Management #Geriatric Care and Nursing Homes #Mechanical Circulatory Support Devices #Medicine #Psychological intervention #CINAHL #Randomized controlled trial #Emergency medicine #Heart failure #MEDLINE #Clinical trial #Transitional care #Health care #Physical therapy #Internal medicine #Nursing
paper · doi:10.7326/m14-0083
openalex publication_date 2014/05/26 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
BACKGROUND: Nearly 25% of patients hospitalized with heart failure (HF) are readmitted within 30 days. PURPOSE: To assess the efficacy, comparative effectiveness, and harms of transitional care interventions to reduce readmission and mortality rates for adults hospitalized with HF. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, ClinicalTrials.gov, and World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (1 January 1990 to late October 2013). STUDY SELECTION: Two reviewers independently selected randomized, controlled trials published in English reporting a readmission or mortality rate within 6 months of an index hospitalization. DATA EXTRACTION: One reviewer extracted data, and another checked accuracy. Two reviewers assessed risk of bias and graded strength of evidence (SOE). DATA SYNTHESIS: Forty-seven trials were included. Most enrolled adults with moderate to severe HF and a mean age of 70 years. Few trials reported 30-day readmission rates. At 30 days, a high-intensity home-visiting program reduced all-cause readmission and the composite end point (all-cause readmission or death; low SOE). Over 3 to 6 months, home-visiting programs and multidisciplinary heart failure (MDS-HF) clinic interventions reduced all-cause readmission (high SOE). Home-visiting programs reduced HF-specific readmission and the composite end point (moderate SOE). Structured telephone support (STS) interventions reduced HF-specific readmission (high SOE) but not all-cause readmissions (moderate SOE). Home-visiting programs, MDS-HF clinics, and STS interventions produced a mortality benefit. Neither telemonitoring nor primarily educational interventions reduced readmission or mortality rates. LIMITATIONS: Few trials reported 30-day readmission rates. Usual care was heterogeneous and sometimes not adequately described. CONCLUSION: Home-visiting programs and MDS-HF clinics reduced all-cause readmission and mortality; STS reduced HF-specific readmission and mortality. These interventions should receive the greatest consideration by systems or providers seeking to implement transitional care interventions for persons with HF. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.