Effect of a heart failure clinic on survival and hospital readmission in patients discharged from acute hospital care

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2002

Authors

Azevedo A (Author) FMUP; Pimenta J (Author) Other; Dias, P (Author) Other; Bettencourt P (Author) FMUP; Ferreira A (Author) FMUP; Cerqueira Gomes, M (Author) Other

Journal

Title: European Journal of Heart Failure

Vol. 4

Pages: 353-359

ISSN: 1388-9842

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 29 Citations

Scopus - 34 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Medical and Health sciences > Other medical sciences

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-000-P4B

DOI: 10.1016/s1388-9842(02)00013-2

Abstract (EN): Ambulatory care by physicians especially devoted to the management of heart failure (HF) has been reported to have beneficial effects. The aim of this work was to assess the effect of outpatient management at a HF clinic, as compared with care by the usual assistant physician, on prognosis of HF patients. In this non-randomised study, we prospectively followed 339 patients after a hospitalisation index for HF, in order to compare prognosis between two groups of HF patients according to the ambulatory assistance setting: either a specific outpatient clinic (n = 157) or the usual assistant physician (it = 182). The outcomes assessed were all-cause death or cardiac-cause rehospitalisation during the first month after discharge and survival over the longer term. The risk of dying or being readmitted during the first month after discharge was significantly lower in patients followed at the HF clinic (adjusted odds ratio 0.23; 95% CI 0.12-0.46). Patients followed in the HF clinic also had an independent significantly lower hazard of dying during a longer-term follow up of average length 373 days (adjusted hazard ratio 0.52; 95% CI 0.34-0.81). The results Support the fact that a multidisciplinary and permanently available medical staff might be of relevance in improving outcomes in HF patients. (C) 2002 European Society of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All lights reserved.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 7