title: Randomised controlled trial of specialist nurse intervention in heart failure.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether specialist nurse intervention improves outcome in patients with chronic heart failure.
  
  
  METHODS
  Randomised controlled trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Acute medical admissions unit in a teaching hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  165 patients admitted with heart failure due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction. The intervention started before discharge and continued thereafter with home visits for up to 1 year.
  
  
  METHODS
  Time to first event analysis of death from all causes or readmission to hospital with worsening heart failure.
  
  
  RESULTS
  31 patients (37%) in the intervention group died or were readmitted with heart failure compared with 45 (53%) in the usual care group (hazard ratio=0.61, 95% confidence interval 0.33 to 0.96). Compared with usual care, patients in the intervention group had fewer readmissions for any reason (86 v 114, P=0.018), fewer admissions for heart failure (19 v 45, P<0.001) and spent fewer days in hospital for heart failure (mean 3.43 v 7.46 days, P=0.0051).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Specially trained nurses can improve the outcome of patients admitted to hospital with heart failure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Western Infirmary, Dumbarton Road, Glasgow G12 6NT.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Blue
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: McMurray
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Davie
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: McDonagh
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Murdoch
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Petrie
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Connolly
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Norrie
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Round
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ford
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Morrison
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000401:mortality / Q000451:nursing*; D006792:House Calls; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009720:Nurse Clinicians; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D016896:Treatment Outcome