Nurse-led clinics can lower the risk of death and myocardial infarction, and increase medication adherence in patients with cardiovascular diseases

Al-Mallah MH, Farah I, Al-Madani W, Bdeir B, Al HS, Bigelow ML, et al. The impact of nurse-led clinics on the mortality and morbidity of patients with cardiovascular diseases: A systematic review and meta-analysis Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing. 2015 February.

Review question

Do nurse-led clinics (NLCs) lead to improvements in the mortality and morbidity of patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVD)?

Background

CVD presents a major threat to the health and well-being of populations around the world. In recent years, NLCs have shown to be effective in the monitoring and treatment of various chronic diseases. As such, NLCs are a promising means of improving the outcomes of patients with CVD.

How the review was done

 A detailed search was conducted of a number of electronic databases for studies published before February 20, 2013.

The review included studies that focused on patients with CVD being followed up by NLCs in outpatient settings. A total of 302 studies were identified in searches, and 12 were included in the review after assessments for eligibility.

The authors did not receive funding from any source for this review.

What the researchers found

The review found that NLCs decrease the risk of all-cause mortality and myocardial infarction, and increase adherence to medications in patients with CVD.

NLCs were not shown to have a significant effect on the risk of cardiovascular death, major adverse cardiac events, or revascularization.

The included studies only looked at short-term outcomes, and were primarily limited to younger, male populations.

Conclusion

According to moderate-quality evidence, NLCs lower the risk of all-cause mortality and myocardial infarction, and improve medication adherence in patients with CVD. Moving forward, different models of care for NLCs should be developed and tested in different settings.