Impact of missed treatment opportunities on outcomes in hospitalised patients with heart failure

Simon Mark Walker, Eldon Spackman, Nathalie Conrad, Connor A Edmin, Ed Griffin, Kazem Rahimi, Mark John Sculpher

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Objective
Many patients with heart failure (HF) do not receive recommended treatments , resulting in suboptimal outcomes. We aimed to investigate the impact of implementing recommended HF therapies on health outcomes, and the costs and effectiveness of interventions for improving adherence.
Methods
The health benefits of ACE inhibitor (ACEi), beta-blockers and optimal therapy (ACEi and beta-blockers if not contraindicated) following hospitalisation for HF were combined with evidence on uptake. The aim was to examine how much health was lost as a result of failure to follow guidelines, and how much could be gained using strategies to promote uptake.
The net health benefits of different treatments (measured in quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs)) were estimated using a decision analytic model and treatment effectiveness from the literature. Data on the number of patients who would have benefitted from the additional treatments was estimated from 2010 to 2013 using the National Heart Failure Audit.
Results
Each recommended treatment was associated with positive net health benefit. In 2010, 4019 (38.3% of) patients would have benefitted from additional treatments rising to 4,886 patients in 2013 (although falling to 25.2% of patients). Failure to follow guidelines resulted in large health losses. In 2010, if all patients had received optimal therapy, 1,569 QALYs would have been gained, implying a maximum justifiable investment in interventions to promote uptake of £31.4 million.
Conclusion
Current gaps in translation of evidence to practice in hospitals are associated with significant health losses. Strategies to encourage uptake of guidelines could be effective and cost effective.
Original languageEnglish
Article numbere000726
Number of pages8
JournalOpen Heart
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 22 Dec 2017

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