Overall , telemedicine was shown to be beneficial , with home-based teletransmission effectively reducing all-cause mortality and HF-related hospital admission , length of stay and mortality in patients with HF
Telemedicine interventions may be associated with reductions in hospital admission rate and mortality in patients with heart failure ( HF ) .
Tele-guidance of chronic heart failure patients enhances knowledge about the disease. A multi-centre, randomised controlled study.
BACKGROUND New strategies are required to optimize care in increasing numbers of chronic heart failure patients . The aim of this r and omised trial was to evaluate a remote guidance system . METHODS Intervention group patients received a home TV-channel providing educational material s. Tele-guidance was performed by a Medical Service Centre . Control group patients were followed by cardiologists and HF-nurses . Primary endpoints were total days in hospital for all causes and days alive and out of hospital . Secondary endpoints were : quality of life and knowledge of disease and self care . RESULTS 214 patients were enrolled , median age was 66 years , 89 % had systolic LV dysfunction , and 90 % were in NYHA class II or III . The mean LVEF was 31 % . Over a mean follow-up duration of 288 days , there were 199 hospital admissions in 105 patients . Comparison of the groups revealed no differences for the primary outcomes or for QoL or self care behaviour . Knowledge about heart failure however , increased significantly more in the Intervention group ( p<0.001 ) . CONCLUSION Tele-guidance may play a role in the management of heart failure patients since it takes over some of the tasks of HF-nurses . This may facilitate delivery of optimal care to more patients with the same level of experienced staff
Overall , telemedicine was shown to be beneficial , with home-based teletransmission effectively reducing all-cause mortality and HF-related hospital admission , length of stay and mortality in patients with HF
Telemedicine interventions may be associated with reductions in hospital admission rate and mortality in patients with heart failure ( HF ) .