Design of a multicentre randomized controlled trial to assess the safety and efficacy of dose titration by specialized nurses in patients with heart failure. ETIFIC study protocol.

ABSTRACT:

Aims

Heart failure (HF) is associated with many hospital admissions and relatively high mortality, rates decreasing with administration of beta-blockers (BBs), angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers, and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists. The effect is dose dependent, suboptimal doses being common in clinical practice. The 2012 European guidelines recommend close monitoring and dose titration by HF nurses. Our main aim is to compare BB doses achieved by patients after 4 months in intervention (HF nurse-managed) and control (cardiologist-managed) groups. Secondary aims include comparing doses of the other aforementioned drugs achieved after 4 months, adverse events, and outcomes at 6 months in the two groups.

Methods

We have designed a

SUBMITTER: Oyanguren J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5695164 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature