SynthesisPloS one2018
Effect of post-discharge virtual wards on improving outcomes in heart failure and non-heart failure populations: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Barriers and facilitators to the use of virtual wards: a systematic review of the qualitative evidence.International journal for quality in health care : journal of the International Society for Quality in Health Care · 2025Pooled it
- Benchmarking the clinical outcomes of Healthentia SaMD in chronic disease management: a systematic literature review comparison.Frontiers in public health · 2024Pooled it
- Optimal effectiveness of heart failure management - an umbrella review of meta-analyses examining the effectiveness of interventions to reduce (re)hospitalizations in heart failure.Heart failure reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Comparison of Mortality and Hospital Readmissions Among Patients Receiving Virtual Ward Transitional Care vs Usual Postdischarge Care: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA network open · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Article
- Patient demographics, diagnoses, and care needs in a Norwegian Community Virtual Ward versus Skilled Nursing Facility: a longitudinal comparative cohort study.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Review
- Expanding care coordination in an integrated health system through causal machine learning.NPJ digital medicine · 2025Article
- Factors Influencing the Implementation of a Multispecialty Virtual Ward Program in the United Kingdom: Qualitative Exploration of Staff Experiences and Perspectives.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- A Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial of a CKD-Specific Virtual Monitoring Platform to Minimize Adverse Outcomes in High-Risk CKD Patients: A Clinical Research Protocol.Canadian journal of kidney health and disease · 2025Article
- Heart failure services from the community perspective in the UK: a cross-sectional survey.The British journal of cardiology · 2025Article
- Causes and predictors of recurrent unplanned hospital admissions in heart failure patients: a cohort study.Internal and emergency medicine · 2024Article
- Virtual wards for people with frailty: what works, for whom, how and why-a rapid realist review.Age and ageing · 2024Review
- Article
- Digital Health Technologies for Post-Discharge Care after Heart Failure Hospitalisation to Relieve Symptoms and Improve Clinical Outcomes.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- Virtual wards: a rapid evidence synthesis and implications for the care of older people.Age and ageing · 2023Article
- Use of Wearable and Wireless Technology in Real-World Clinical Settings to Improve Patient Outcomes in Chronic Kidney Disease: A Mixed Methods Pilot Prospective Trial.Canadian journal of kidney health and disease · 2023Article
- Effectiveness of hospital-to-home transitional care interventions and consultation for implementation in Sudan: a scoping review of systematic reviews.Frontiers in health services · 2023Article
- Remote care and triage of obstetric patients with COVID-19 in the community: operational considerations.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundUnplanned hospital admissions in high-risk patients are common and costly in an increasingly frail chronic disease population. Virtual Wards (VW) are an emerging concept to improve outcomes in these patients. PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of post-discharge VWs, as an alternative to usual community based care, on hospital readmissions and mortality among heart failure and non-heart failure populations. DATA SOURCES: Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, SCOPUS and CINAHL, from inception through to Jan 31, 2017; unpublished data, prior systematic reviews; reference lists. STUDY SELECTION: Randomized trials of post-discharge VW versus community based, usual care that reported all-cause hospital readmission and mortality outcomes. DATA EXTRACTION: Data were reviewed for inclusion and independently extracted by two reviewers. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias tool. DATA SYNTHESIS: In patients with heart failure, a post-discharge VW reduced risk of mortality (six trials, n = 1634; RR 0.59, 95% CI = 0.44-0.78). Heart failure related readmissions were reduced (RR 0.61, 95% CI = 0.49-0.76), although all-cause readmission was not. In contrast, a post-discharge VW did not reduce death or hospital readmissions for patients with undifferentiated high-risk chronic diseases (four trials, n = .3186). LIMITATIONS: Heterogeneity with respect to intervention and comparator, lacking consistent descriptions and utilization of standardized nomenclature for VW. Some trials had methodologic shortcomings and relatively small study populations.
conclusionsA post-discharge VW can provide added benefits to usual community based care to reduce all-cause mortality and heart failure-related hospital admissions among patients with heart failure. Further research is needed to evaluate the utility of VWs in other chronic disease settings.
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Registered trials
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.