A telephone intervention reduced combined all cause mortality or admission for worsening heart failure in chronic heart failure
Q In patients with chronic heart failure (HF), does a centralised telephone intervention by nurses reduce combined all cause mortality or admission for worsening HF?
METHODS
Design:
randomised controlled trial (DIAL study).
Allocation:
concealed.
Blinding:
blinded (outcome adjudicators).
Follow up period:
mean 16 months.
Setting:
51 centres (public and private hospitals and ambulatory settings) in Argentina.
Patients:
1518 outpatients (mean age 65 y, 71% men) ⩾18 years of age, who had stable HF diagnosed ⩾3 months previously, no admissions in the past 2 months, and drug treatment that was not modified for ⩾2 months. Exclusion criteria included need for >1 medical visit per month; HF related to diseases other than ischaemic heart disease; reversible cardiomyopathy; recent myocardial infarction, unstable angina, cardiac surgery or angioplasty, or stroke; planned cardiac surgery; symptomatic rhythm abnormalities; expected survival <1 year; pregnancy; severe disability; or history …
