Factors related to time to admission to specialized multidisciplinary clinics in patients with congestive heart failure.
BACKGROUND
Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a common cause of hospitalization and has a poor prognosis. Specialized multidisciplinary clinics are effective in the management of CHF.


OBJECTIVE
To measure time of admission to the specialized clinics and explore factors related to the time of admission to these clinics.


METHODS
Patients who were newly admitted to one of six CHF multidisciplinary clinics in the province of Quebec were enrolled in the study. Data were collected from the common clinical database used at these clinics as well as from questionnaires administered to the patients.


RESULTS
A total of 531 patients with a mean age of 65.9 years were enrolled. Only 26% were women. The median duration of disease before admission to the CHF clinic was 1.2 years. The majority of patients (62%) were referred by a cardiologist or an internist, while 24% were referred by other specialists, and 14% by general practitioners. One-fifth of patients did not have regular follow-up for their CHF before being admitted to the clinic. Factors associated with shorter disease duration at admission to the clinic were referral by a specialist, not having regular medical follow-up for CHF, having a higher income and having visited the emergency room for CHF.


CONCLUSIONS
There may be a need to improve dissemination of information regarding availability and benefits of CHF clinics and criteria for referral.
Ehrmann Feldman
Debbie
D
University of Montreal, School of Rehabilitation, Montreal, Canada. debbie.feldman@umontreal.ca
Ducharme
Anique
A
Frenette
Marc
M
Giannetti
Nadia
N
Michel
Caroline
C
Grondin
François
F
Sheppard
Richard
R
Behlouli
Hassan
H
Pilote
Louise
L
D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006769:Hospitals, General / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000639:trends*; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011792:Quebec / Q000453:epidemiology; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000592:standards*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors