Effectiveness of nurse-led heart failure clinic: A systematic review

Objectives Heart failure is a stage of various cardiovascular diseases and constitutes a growing major public health problem worldwide. Nurse-led heart failure clinics play an important role in managing heart failure. All nurse-led heart failure clinic services are clinic-based. We conducted a systematic review to describe the contents and impact of nurse-led heart failure clinics. Methods A review of nurse-led heart failure clinic research was undertaken in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. The search was initially conducted on 23 October 2022 and updated on 21 November 2023. Articles were appraised using the Joanna Briggs Appraisal criteria by two independent reviewers. This review was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42022352209). Results Twelve articles were included in this systematic review. The nurse-led heart failure clinic contents were: medication uptitration, educational counseling, evidence-based transitional care, psychosocial support, physical examination and mental well-being assessment, therapy monitoring and adjustment, follow-up, and phone consultations. Most studies reported largely positive clinical outcomes in nurse-led heart failure clinics. Four studies examined the quality of life and reported conflicting results; four studies examined medication titration efficacy, and the results were generally positive. Only two studies examined cost-effectiveness; hence, more relevant studies are needed. Conclusions Nurse-led heart failure clinics have shown a largely positive impact on patient outcomes, quality of life, and medication titration efficacy. More randomised controlled trials and other studies are needed to reach more robust conclusions.