title: Management of uncontrolled hypertension in a nurse-led clinic compared with conventional care for patients with type 2 diabetes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the effectiveness of a nurse-led hypertension clinic with conventional community care in general practice in the management of uncontrolled hypertension in patients with type 2 diabetes.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 120 men and women outpatient attendees (61% non-Caucasian) with type 2 diabetes and a seated blood pressure (BP) >or=140/80 mmHg. All patients were being treated for hypertension, and 71% had increased urinary albumin excretion (UAE). Patients were allocated to either a nurse-led hypertension clinic or conventional primary care. The primary outcome measure was a change in systolic BP. Secondary outcome measures were total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, total triglycerides, HbA(1c), UAE, serum creatinine, and changes in absolute stroke and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk scores.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean (95% CI) difference in the decrement of systolic BP was 12.6 mmHg (5.9-19.3) (P = 0.000) in favor of the nurse-led group, whose patients were three times more likely to a reach target systolic BP <140 mmHg compared with conventional care (P = 0.003). A significant fall in 10-year CHD (P = 0.004) and stroke risk (P = 0.000) scores occurred only in the nurse-led group. There were no significant differences in the reduction of diastolic BP or any of the other secondary outcome measures at 6 months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Compared with conventional care, a nurse-led hypertension clinic is a more effective intervention for patients with type 2 diabetes and uncontrolled hypertension. A target systolic BP <140 mmHg is more readily achieved and may be associated with significant reductions in 10-year cardiovascular disease risk scores.
authors.affiliation: Royal Free and University College London Medical School, Whittington Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Denver
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barnard
authors.forename: Robin G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Woolfson
authors.forename: Kenneth A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Earle
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000451:nursing* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000451:nursing* / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015397:Program Evaluation; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013041:Specialties, Nursing; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome