Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26041470›Full record

ArticleBMC health services research2015

Effect of distance to health facility on the maintenance of INR therapeutic ranges in rheumatic heart disease patients from Cape Town: no evidence for an association.

Dylan D Barth, Liesl J Zühlke, Alexia Joachim, Tyler Hoegger, Bongani M Mayosi, Mark E Engel

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC health services research, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Dylan D BarthDepartment of Medicine, Groote Schuur Hospital and University of Cape Town, J46.43 Old Main Building, Private Bag, 7700, Rondebosch, South Africa.
Liesl J ZühlkeDepartment of Medicine, Groote Schuur Hospital and University of Cape Town, J46.43 Old Main Building, Private Bag, 7700, Rondebosch, South Africa.
Alexia JoachimDepartment of Medicine, Groote Schuur Hospital and University of Cape Town, J46.43 Old Main Building, Private Bag, 7700, Rondebosch, South Africa.
Tyler HoeggerSkiza Consulting Ltd., Cape Town, South Africa.
Bongani M MayosiDepartment of Medicine, Groote Schuur Hospital and University of Cape Town, J46.43 Old Main Building, Private Bag, 7700, Rondebosch, South Africa.
Mark E EngelDepartment of Medicine, Groote Schuur Hospital and University of Cape Town, J46.43 Old Main Building, Private Bag, 7700, Rondebosch, South Africa. mark.engel@uct.ac.za.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLack of adherence to international normalised ratio (INR) monitoring in rheumatic heart disease (RHD) patients is a contributor to cardio-embolic complications. This population-based observational study investigated whether the distance between home and an INR clinic affects the maintenance of therapeutic INR in RHD patients on warfarin.

methodsResidential addresses, INR clinics, and INR results of patients with RHD were extracted from the Cape Town component of the Global Rheumatic Heart Disease Registry (REMEDY) database. Addresses of homes and INR clinics were converted to geographical coordinates and verified in ArcGIS 10®. ArcGIS 10® and Google Maps® were used for spatial mapping and obtaining shortest road distances respectively. The travel distance between the home and INR clinic was correlated with time within therapeutic range (TTR) using the Rosendaal linear interpolation method, and with the fraction of INR within range, based on an average of three INR readings of patients and compared with recommended therapeutic ranges.

resultsRHD patients (n = 133) resided between 0.2 km and 50.8 km (median distance, 3.60 km) from one of 33 INR clinics. There was no significant difference in the achievement of the therapeutic INR between patients who travelled a shorter distance compared to those who travelled a longer distance (in range = 3.50 km versus out of range = 3.75 km, p = 0.78). This finding was the same for patients with mechanical valve replacement (n = 105) (3.50 km versus 3.90 km, p = 0.81), and native valves (3.45 km versus 2.75 km, p = 0.84).

conclusionsThere is no association between the maintenance of INR within therapeutic range amongst RHD patients in Cape Town and distance from patients' residence to the INR clinic.

Indexed as

Health Services AccessibilityInternational Normalized RatioAdolescentAdultAgedAnticoagulantsFemaleGeographic Information SystemsHealth FacilitiesHumansMaleMiddle AgedRegistriesRheumatic Heart DiseaseSouth AfricaWarfarinAnticoagulantsWarfarin

Identifiers

PMID26041470
PMCPMC4456049

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.