Remote Monitoring After Heart Failure

Nurse's Role Clinical Trial

Official title:

Individually Tailored Remote Monitoring at Home After Hospitalisation for HEART Failure in Multi-morbid Patients (IT-HEART): a Randomised Clinical Trial

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05447598
• Other study ID #: 464460
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: April 25, 2023
• Est. completion date: December 30, 2026

Study information

• Verified date: April 2023
• Source: Vestre Viken Hospital Trust
• Contact: John Munkhaugen, MD,PhD
• Phone: +47 97524194
• Email: johmun[@]vestreviken.no
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Heart failure (HF) is a leading cause of hospitalisation and disability-adjusted life years lost, with mortality rates exceeding most cancers. Despite compelling evidence and recommendations, less than 20% of the HF patients are followed-up by the specialist healthcare after hospital discharge. Due to limited outpatient capacity, human resources and increasing incidence of HF over the next decades, new care models are obviously needed. Remote monitoring (i.e. telemonitoring) encompasses the use of audio, video and other telecommunication technologies to monitor patient status at a distance. Remote monitoring is a promising strategy that can facilitate rapid access to care when needed and reduce patient travel to hospital consultations. It also promotes self-care behaviour, psychosocial support, and early detection of cardiac decompensation. Despite intensive research for >10 years, randomised trials show conflicting results, and European HF guidelines are confined to a weak (class IIb, level of evidence B) recommendation. More knowledge about the role of remote monitoring strategies in HF management, especially in the transition from hospital to home, is thus requested in the most recent European and US guidelines. In particular, studies of high-risk patients integrating the community health services are largely lacking. Furthermore, the components of the intervention that mediate the effect need to be identified. The proposed study aims to address these gaps in evidence and assess whether individually tailored remote monitoring at home (IT-HEART) is improves clinical outcomes in patients hospitalized with decompensated HF. We also aim to identify modifiable clinical and behavioural (drug adherence, self-care, psychological factors) outcome predictors. A prospective, multicentre, randomized, open-label, blinded endpoint adjudication (PROBE) intervention study is designed and powered to include about 368 patients with at least one HF hospitalization in the 12 months preceding enrolment. To ensure generalizability, patients will be included regardless of comorbidity, frailty and ejection fraction. We have conducted a pilot-study providing empirical evidence for the expected participation rate, readmission rate and barriers to HF management in current clinical practice that will be targets for the intervention. This will promote high adherence to the intervention and positive long-term clinical and health economic effects.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Recruiting
• Enrollment: 368
• Est. completion date: December 30, 2026
• Est. primary completion date: September 30, 2025
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age> 18 years
• Known HF diagnosis (ICD-10: I50) recorded in hospital medical records
• Admitted to hospital within 7 days before screening for acute HF with symptoms of decompensation including dyspnoea in NYHA class = II, pulmonary congestion on chest x-ray and/or other signs like oedema or positive rales on auscultation and elevated NT-proBNP concentrations at screening
• Sign informed consent and expected to participate according to ICH / GCP

Exclusion Criteria:

• Any condition (e.g. psychosis, alcohol abuse, dementia) or situation that may pose a significant risk to the participant, confuse the results or make participation unethical
• Not able to understand Norwegian language
• Short life expectancy (<6 months) due to non-cardiac causes

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Heart Failure
• Heart Failure Acute
• Nurse's Role
• Remote Monitoring

Intervention

Other:
• Nurse-led remote monitoring program
Symptoms of disease progression, clinical parameters, medication adherence and follow-up needs will be reported by patients or with support from relatives or homecare nurses 2-4 times/months over a three months period using a digital platform. Telephone monitoring is planned for patients who are not able to comply with the digital platform. In addition, an individualized self-treatment plan for diuretics and lifestyle advice will be prepared, preferably together with relatives at the outpatient clinic. Participants will also have access to a website with written information and videos about HF and self-management. Finally, a pillbox will be delivered to facilitate drug adherence.
• Usual care treatment
Usual care treatment and follow-up care at the outpatient clinic and in primary care

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Norway	Vestre Viken Trust Drammen hospital	Drammen	Viken County
Norway	Vestfold Hospital Trust	Tønsberg	Vestfold And Telemark County

Sponsors (5)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Vestre Viken Hospital Trust	Oslo University Hospital, The Hospital of Vestfold, University of Oslo, University of Stavanger

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Norway, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Rate of re-hospitalizations for heart failure and total death	Rate of re-hospitalizations for heart failure and total death at 12 months follow-up assessed from hospital medical records between the treatment arms	From time of randomization until 12 months follow-up
Primary	Time to first re-hospitalization for heart failure and total death	Time to first re-hospitalization for heart failure and total death at 12 months follow-up assessed from hospital medical records between the treatment arms	From time of randomization until 12 months follow-up
Secondary	Rate of total death	Rate of total death at 12 months follow-up assessed from hospital medical records between the treatment arms	From time of randomization until 12 months follow-up
Secondary	Rate of re-hospitalizations for heart failure	Rate of re-hospitalizations for heart failure at 12 months follow-up assessed from hospital medical records between the treatment arms	From time of randomization until 12 months follow-up
Secondary	Total number of days lost due to unplanned cardiovascular hospital admissions treatment arms	Percentage of days lost due to unplanned cardiovascular hospital admissions at 12 months follow-up between the treatment arms assessed from hospital medical records	From time of randomization until 12 months follow-up
Secondary	Changes in selfcare behaviour	Changes in selfcare behaviour measured by the revised 9-item European Heart Failure Selfcare behaviour Scale assessed by patient self-report on a five-point scale from "totally agree" to "totally disagree".	From baseline until three months follow-up