Peri-discharge complex interventions for reducing 30-day hospital readmissions among heart failure patients: overview of systematic reviews and network meta-analysis.

AIMS

An overview of systematic reviews (SRs) and network meta-analysis (NMA) was conducted to synthesize evidence of comparative effectiveness of different peri-discharge complex interventions for reducing 30-day hospital readmissions among heart failure (HF) patients.

METHODS

We searched five databases for SRs from their inception to August 2019 and conducted additional search for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published between 2003 and 2020. We used random-effect pairwise meta-analysis with pooled risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to quantify the effect of complex interventions, and NMA to evaluate comparative effectiveness among complex interventions. Primary outcome was 30-day all-cause hospital readmissions, while secondary outcomes were 30-day HF-related hospital readmissions, 30-day mortality, and 30-day emergency department visits.

RESULTS

From 20 SRs and additional RCT search, 21 eligible RCTs ( = 5362) assessing eight different peri-discharge complex interventions were included. Pairwise meta-analysis showed no significant difference between peri-discharge complex interventions and controls on all outcomes, except that peri-discharge complex interventions were significantly more effective than controls in reducing 30-day mortality (pooled RR = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.49-0.95, 5 RCTs). NMA indicated that for reducing 30-day all-cause hospital readmissions, supportive-educative intervention had the highest probability to be the best intervention, followed by disease management; while for reducing 30-day HF-related hospital readmissions, disease management is likely to be the best intervention.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that disease management has the best potential to reduce 30-day all-cause and HF-related hospital readmissions. Benefits of the interventions may vary across health system contexts. Evidence-based complex interventions require local adaptation prior to implementation.