SynthesisPloS one2021
Effects of nurse-led transitional care interventions for patients with heart failure on healthcare utilization: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 24 papers, 6 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
24 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 39 citations in OpenAlex.
- Patients' Experiences of Nurse-Led eHealth Interventions for Chronic Heart Failure: Qualitative Systematic Review and Meta-Synthesis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Pooled it
- Assessing the impact of intermediate care interventions on healthcare and patient-related outcomes: a systematic overview of systematic reviews.BMC health services research · 2025Pooled it
- The Impact of Multidisciplinary Transitional Care Interventions for Complex Care Needs: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.The Gerontologist · 2025Pooled it
- Nurse-Led Interventions to Improve Health, Adherence, and Functional Outcomes in Adults and Older Adults With Multimorbidity: A Systematic Review of Randomized and Quasiexperimental Studies.Journal of nursing management · 2025Pooled it
- Facilitators and inhibitors in hospital-to-home transitional care for elderly patients with chronic diseases: A meta-synthesis of qualitative studies.Frontiers in public health · 2023Pooled it
- Continuity of Nursing Care in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- [Capacity Management During the Hospital-to-Home Transition Period for Patients With Chronic Heart Failure].Sichuan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Sichuan University. Medical science edition · 2026Trial
- Mobile Integrated Health vs a Transitions of Care Coordinator for Patients Discharged After Heart Failure: The Mighty-Heart Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA internal medicine · 2025Trial
- Evaluating the effects of evidence-based nursing on length of hospital stay, duration of mechanical ventilation, symptom relief, and complication rates in children with severe adenoviral pneumonia: a prospective randomized controlled trial.Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de Sao Paulo · 2025Trial
- Article
- Extended and comprehensive e-Health modalities to improve outcome in patients with worsened heart failure: design and rationale of the EXCEED-HF study.European heart journal. Digital health · 2026Article
- Advanced Practice Nurse-Led Cardiogeriatric Heart Failure Pathways: A Narrative, Practice-Based Description of an Integrated Care Model.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2026Article
- Enhancing Post-Discharge Care for People Who Have Had an Acute Myocardial Infarction in Portugal: Insights From Patient Journey Mapping.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2025Article
- Cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis of a nurse-led, transitional care model to improve care coordination for patients with cardiovascular diseases: results from the "Cardiolotse" study.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2025Article
- Optimizing an Electronic Health Record System Used to Help Health Care Professionals Comply With a Standardized Care Pathway for Heart Failure During the Transition From Hospital To Chronic Care: Qualitative Semistructured Interview Study.JMIR medical informatics · 2025Article
- Article
- Improving transitional care after acute myocardial infarction: A scoping review.Health care science · 2024Article
- Impact of nurse-led interprofessional work in older patients with heart failure and multimorbidity: A retrospective cohort study.American heart journal plus : cardiology research and practice · 2024Article
- Heart Failure Nurses within the Primary Care Setting.Cardiac failure review · 2024Review
- Acute Heart Failure Is a Malignant Process: But We Can Induce Remission.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHeart failure (HF) imposes a substantial burden on patients and healthcare systems. Hospital-to-home transitional care, involving time-limited interventions delivered predominantly by nurses, was introduced to lighten this burden. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness and dose-response of nurse-led transitional care interventions (TCIs) on healthcare utilization among patients with HF.
methodsHealth-related databases were systematically searched for articles published from January 2000 to June 2020. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared nurse-led TCIs with usual care for adults hospitalized with HF and reported the following healthcare utilization outcomes: all-cause readmissions, HF-specific readmissions, emergency department visits, or length of hospital stay. Random-effects meta-analysis, meta-regression analysis, and dose-response analysis were performed to estimate the treatment effects and explain the heterogeneity.
resultsTwenty-five RCTs including 8422 patients with HF were included. Nurse-led TCIs for patients with HF resulted in a mean 9% (RR = 0.91; 95% CI = 0.82 to 0.99; p = 0.04; I2 = 46%) and 29% (RR = 0.71; 95% CI = 0.60 to 0.84; p < 0.0001; I2 = 0%) reduction in all-cause and HF-specific readmission risks respectively compared to usual care. The interventions were also effective in shortening the length of hospital stay (MD = -2.37; 95% CI = -3.16 to -1.58; p < 0.0001; I2 = 14%). However, no significant reduction was found for emergency department visits (RR = 0.96; 95% CI = 0.84 to 1.10; p = 0.58; I2 = 0%). The effect of meta-regression coefficients on all-cause and HF-specific readmissions was not statistically significant for any prespecified trial-level characteristic. Dose-response analysis revealed that the HF-specific readmission risk decreased in a dose-dependent manner with the complexity and intensity of nurse-led TCIs.
conclusionsNurse-led TCIs were effective in decreasing all-cause and HF-specific readmission risks, as well as in reducing the length of hospital stay; however, the interventions were not effective in reducing the frequency of emergency department visits.
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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.