Burden of nursing activities during hemodynamic monitoring of heart failure patients.

Background: Concerns remain about the burden of nursing care required to implement pulmonary artery pressure monitoring of heart failure patients.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients (N = 15) with a PAP sensor at our center. We defined three categories of PAP activity and estimated the nursing time spent on PAP monitoring.

Comparison of Ambulatory, High-Dose, Intravenous Diuretic Therapy to Standard Hospitalization and Diuretic Therapy for Treatment of Acute Decompensated Heart Failure.

Innovative treatment strategies for decompensated heart failure (HF) are required to achieve cost savings and improvements in outcomes. We developed a decision analytic model from a hospital perspective to compare 2 strategies for the treatment of decompensated HF, ambulatory diuretic infusion therapy, and hospitalization (standard care), with respect to total HF hospitalizations and costs. The ambulatory diuretic therapy strategy included outpatient treatment with high doses of intravenous loop diuretics in a specialized HF unit whereas standard care included hospitalization for intravenous loop diuretic therapy.