Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2007 May 5;334(7600):942.
doi: 10.1136/bmj.39156.536968.55. Epub 2007 Apr 10.

Telemonitoring or structured telephone support programmes for patients with chronic heart failure: systematic review and meta-analysis

Robyn A Clark  1 , Sally C Inglis, Finlay A McAlister, John G F Cleland, Simon Stewart
Affiliations
Review

Telemonitoring or structured telephone support programmes for patients with chronic heart failure: systematic review and meta-analysis

Robyn A Clark et al. BMJ. .

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether remote monitoring (structured telephone support or telemonitoring) without regular clinic or home visits improves outcomes for patients with chronic heart failure.

Data sources: 15 electronic databases, hand searches of previous studies, and contact with authors and experts.

Data extraction: Two investigators independently screened the results.

Review methods: Published randomised controlled trials comparing remote monitoring programmes with usual care in patients with chronic heart failure managed within the community.

Results: 14 randomised controlled trials (4264 patients) of remote monitoring met the inclusion criteria: four evaluated telemonitoring, nine evaluated structured telephone support, and one evaluated both. Remote monitoring programmes reduced the rates of admission to hospital for chronic heart failure by 21% (95% confidence interval 11% to 31%) and all cause mortality by 20% (8% to 31%); of the six trials evaluating health related quality of life three reported significant benefits with remote monitoring, and of the four studies examining healthcare costs with structured telephone support three reported reduced cost and one no effect.

Conclusion: Programmes for chronic heart failure that include remote monitoring have a positive effect on clinical outcomes in community dwelling patients with chronic heart failure.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

None
Fig 1 Flow of study selection
None
Fig 2 Effect of remote monitoring on all cause mortality
None
Fig 3 Effect of remote monitoring on risk of all cause admission to hospital
None
Fig 4 Effect of remote monitoring on risk of admission to hospital for chronic heart failure
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Stewart S, MacIntyre K, Hole DJ, Capewell S, McMurray JJV. More malignant than cancer? Five-year survival following a first admission for heart failure. Eur J Heart Fail 2001;3:315-22. - PubMed
    1. Cleland JGF. Improving patient outcomes in heart failure: evidence and barriers. Heart 2000;84(suppl I):i8-10. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gonseth J, Guallar-Castillon P, Banegas JR, Rodriguez-Artalejo F. The effectiveness of disease management programmes in reducing hospital re-admission in older patients with heart failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis of published reports. Eur Heart J 2004;25(18):1570-95. - PubMed
    1. Gwadry-Sridhar FH, Flintoft V, Lee DS, Lee H, Guyatt GH. A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies comparing readmission rates and mortality rates in patients with heart failure. Arch Intern Med 2004;64:2315-20. - PubMed
    1. Louis AA, Turner T, Gretton M, Baksh A, Cleland JGF. A systematic review of telemonitoring for the management of heart failure. Eur J Heart Fail 2003;5:585-90. - PubMed