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. OBJECTIVES: 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. CONCLUSION: There may be a need to improve dissemination of information regarding availability and benefits of CHF clinics and criteria for referral.
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. OBJECTIVES: 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. CONCLUSION: There may be a need to improve dissemination of information regarding availability and benefits of CHF clinics and criteria for referral.
Authors: P H Dunselman; C E Kuntze; A van Bruggen; H Beekhuis; B Piers; A H Scaf; H Wesseling; K I Lie Journal: Am Heart J Date: 1988-12 Impact factor: 4.749
Authors: G H Guyatt; M J Sullivan; P J Thompson; E L Fallen; S O Pugsley; D W Taylor; L B Berman Journal: Can Med Assoc J Date: 1985-04-15 Impact factor: 8.262
Authors: V Bittner; D H Weiner; S Yusuf; W J Rogers; K M McIntyre; S I Bangdiwala; M W Kronenberg; J B Kostis; R M Kohn; M Guillotte Journal: JAMA Date: 1993-10-13 Impact factor: 56.272
Authors: Sean M Hayes; Sophie Peloquin; Jonathan G Howlett; Karen Harkness; Nadia Giannetti; Carol Rancourt; Nancy Ricard Journal: BMC Health Serv Res Date: 2015-07-28 Impact factor: 2.655