An initial six-month telemonitoring programme had no significant effect on long-term all-cause mortality compared with usual care (HR 0.83; 95% CI 0.57-1.20; p=0.32).
RCT (n=142)
randomized
Yes
Does an initial six-month telemonitoring programme reduce all-cause mortality in patients with chronic heart failure?
An initial six-month telemonitoring program in chronic heart failure patients did not significantly reduce long-term all-cause mortality at 79 months, though it reduced days lost to heart failure readmissions.
Effect estimate: HR 0.83 (95% CI 0.57 to 1.20)
p-value: p=0.32
Aims The TElemonitoring in the MAnagement of Heart Failure (TEMA-HF) 1 long-term follow-up study assessed whether an initial six-month telemonitoring (TM) programme compared with usual care (UC) would result in reduced all-cause mortality, heart failure admissions and healthcare costs in chronic heart failure (CHF) patients at long-term follow-up. Methods Of the 160 patients included in the multi-centre, randomised controlled telemonitoring trial (TEMA-HF 1, time point t 0 ); 142 CHF patients (65% male; age: 76 ± 10 years; EF: 36 ± 15%) were alive and entered the follow-up study (time point: t 1 ) with a final evaluation at 79 months (time point: t 2 ). Both TM and UC group patients received standard heart failure care during the follow-up study (time points: t 1 – t 2 ). The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes included days lost due to heart failure readmissions and readmission/patient follow-up related healthcare costs. Results Compared with usual care, the initial six-month TM programme had no significant effect on all-cause mortality (hazard ratio: 0.83; 95% confidence interval, 0.57 to 1.20; p = 0.32). The number of days lost due to heart failure readmissions was significantly lower in the TM group ( p = 0.04). Healthcare costs did not differ significantly between the TM (€ 9140 ± 10580) and UC group (€ 12495 ± 22433) ( p = 0.87). Discussion An initial six-month telemonitoring programme was not associated with reduced all-cause mortality in CHF patients at long-term follow-up but resulted in a reduction in the number of days lost due to heart failure readmissions. This study is registered in the ClinicalTrials.gov registry (NCT03171038) (URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03171038 ).
Frederix et al. (Thu,) conducted a rct in chronic heart failure (CHF) (n=142). telemonitoring (TM) programme vs. usual care (UC) was evaluated on all-cause mortality (HR 0.83, 95% CI 0.57 to 1.20, p=0.32). An initial six-month telemonitoring programme had no significant effect on long-term all-cause mortality compared with usual care (HR 0.83; 95% CI 0.57-1.20; p=0.32).