Key result
A telehealth service for patients with congestive heart failure significantly reduced the average number of hospitalizations per patient from 4.7 to 2.6 over one year (p < 0.001).
Why the study?
Does a telehealth service reduce hospital admissions in patients with NYHA II-IV congestive heart failure?
Cohort (n=141)
Does a telehealth service reduce hospital admissions in patients with NYHA II-IV congestive heart failure?
Absolute Event Rate: 2.6% vs 4.7%
p-value: p=< 0.001
A telehealth service with daily weight monitoring significantly reduced hospitalizations and improved quality of life in patients with symptomatic heart failure.
Supports telehealth exploration in HF; observational data leaves open need for RCTs before practice change.
AIMS: This research was conducted to evaluate the impact of a telehealth service on re-hospitalization of patients with congestive heart failure at New York Heart Association II-IV. METHODS AND RESULTS: The telehealth service for congestive heart failure patients was designed to follow the patients after their daily weighing and to provide a response in cases of non-compliance or deviation from baseline weight. A weighing scale was installed in the patient's house together with a communication module connected to the telemedicine control centre through a telephone line. The control centre is staffed by skilled nurses whose responses to patients are guided by programmed algorithm. Over a year, we evaluated the changes in the frequency of hospital admission and of primary care visits, and quality of life of 141 individuals who were eligible for the telehealth service for congestive heart failure. A decline was noted in the average number of hospitalizations per patient (from 4.7 to 2.6, p < 0.001). Scores of parameters of quality of life were improved (average score for first through fourth quarterly administration: 64, 50, 16, 16, p < 0.001 by the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire). CONCLUSIONS: During the year of use in telehealth service for congestive heart failure parameters of hospitalization were improved, together with parameters of quality of life.
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Eilat‐Tsanani et al. (2015) conducted a cohort in Congestive heart failure (n=141). Telehealth service vs. Baseline (prior to telehealth service) was evaluated on Average number of hospitalizations per patient (p=< 0.001). A telehealth service for patients with congestive heart failure significantly reduced the average number of hospitalizations per patient from 4.7 to 2.6 over one year (p < 0.001).
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