View article

To compare the effectiveness of transitional care services in decreasing all‐cause death and all‐cause readmissions following hospitalization for heart failure (HF).

We searched PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and Cochrane Clinical Trials Register for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in 2000–2015 that tested the efficacy of transitional care services in patients hospitalized for HF, provided ≥1 month of follow‐up, and reported all‐cause mortality or all‐cause readmissions. Our network meta‐analysis included 53 RCTs (12 356 patients). Among services that significantly decreased all‐cause mortality compared with usual care, nurse home visits were most effective [ranking P‐score 0.6794; relative risk (RR) 0.78, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.62–0.98], followed by disease management clinics (DMCs) (ranking P‐score 0.6368; RR 0.80, 95% CI 0.67–0.97). Among services that …