PMID- 25089310
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20150209
LR  - 20140801
IS  - 1532-8414 (Electronic)
IS  - 1071-9164 (Linking)
VI  - 20
IP  - 5
DP  - 2014 May
TI  - Utilization of trained volunteers decreases 30-day readmissions for heart 
      failure.
PG  - 377.e15-23
AB  - Background: This study evaluated the effectiveness of using trained volunteer 
      staff in reducing 30-day readmissions of congestive heart failure (CHF) 
      patients.Methods: From June 2010 to December 2010, 137 patients (mean age 73 
      years) hospitalized for CHF were randomly assigned to either: an interventional 
      arm (arm A) receiving dietary and pharmacologic education by a trained volunteer, 
      follow-up telephone calls within 48 hours, and a month of weekly calls; ora 
      control arm (arm B) receiving standard care. Primary outcomes were 30-day 
      readmission rates for CHF and worsening New York Heart Association (NYHA) 
      functional classification; composite and all-cause mortality were secondary 
      outcomes.Results: Arm A patients had decreased 30-day readmissions (7% vs 19%; P 
      ! .05) with a relative risk reduction (RRR) of 63% and an absolute risk reduction 
      (ARR) of 12%. The composite outcome of 30-day readmission, worsening NYHA 
      functional class, and death was decreased in the arm A (24% vs 49%;P ! .05; RRR 
      51%, ARR 25%). Standard-care treatment and hypertension, age $65 years and 
      hypertension,and cigarette smoking were predictors of increased risk for 
      readmissions, worsening NYHA functional class, and all-cause mortality, 
      respectively, in the multivariable analysis.Conclusions: Utilizing trained 
      volunteer staff to improve patient education and engagement might be an efficient 
      and low-cost intervention to reduce CHF readmissions.
FAU - Sales, Virna L
AU  - Sales VL
AD  - Division of Cardiology, New York Methodist Hospital, Brooklyn, New York
FAU - Ashraf, Muhammad Salman
AU  - Ashraf MS
FAU - Lella, Leela K
AU  - Lella LK
FAU - Huang, Jiaxin
AU  - Huang J
FAU - Bhumireddy, Geetha
AU  - Bhumireddy G
FAU - Lefkowitz, Lance
AU  - Lefkowitz L
FAU - Feinstein, Mimi
AU  - Feinstein M
FAU - Kamal, Mikail
AU  - Kamal M
FAU - Caesar, Raqib
AU  - Caesar R
FAU - Cusick, Elizabeth
AU  - Cusick E
FAU - Norenberg, Jane
AU  - Norenberg J
FAU - Lee, Jiwon
AU  - Lee J
FAU - Brener, Sorin
AU  - Brener S
FAU - Sacchi, Terrence J
AU  - Sacchi TJ
FAU - Heitner, John F
AU  - Heitner JF
LA  - eng
PT  - Corrected and Republished Article
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Randomized Controlled Trial
PL  - United States
TA  - J Card Fail
JT  - Journal of cardiac failure
JID - 9442138
SB  - IM
CRF - J Card Fail. 2013 Dec;19(12):842-50. PMID: 24331204
MH  - Aged
MH  - Aged, 80 and over
MH  - Early Medical Intervention/methods/*trends
MH  - Education/methods/trends
MH  - Female
MH  - Follow-Up Studies
MH  - Heart Failure/diagnosis/*epidemiology/*therapy
MH  - Humans
MH  - Male
MH  - Middle Aged
MH  - Patient Readmission/*trends
MH  - Prospective Studies
MH  - Time Factors
MH  - Volunteers/*education
EDAT- 2014/08/05 06:00
MHDA- 2015/02/11 06:00
CRDT- 2014/08/05 06:00
PHST- 2014/08/05 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2014/08/05 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2015/02/11 06:00 [medline]
PST - ppublish
SO  - J Card Fail. 2014 May;20(5):377.e15-23.