Table 4.
Heart failure hospital admissions and total mortality during seven-month trial follow-up, selected prescription rates for patients at seven-month trial follow-up, mean NT-proBNP-values at baseline and seven-month follow-up and primary care activity data during seven-month trial follow-up
| Outcome | Time | Intervention group | Control group | |||
| No | No | |||||
| Adjusted odds ratio* (95% CI); p**-value | ||||||
| Death (any cause) | Seven months | 9 | 91 | 4 | 77 | 2.0 (0.6 to 7.1); 0.27 |
| Patients admitted to hospital due to heart failure, no. (%) | Seven months | 23 (27.1) | 85 | 16 (23.5) | 68 | 1.2 (0.5 to 2.6); 0.67 |
| No. of heart failure hospital admissions | Seven months | 31 | 85 | 34 | 68 | 0.8 (0.3 to 2.1); 0.63 |
| Heart failure hospital admission or death | Seven months | 29 | 89 | 18 | 70 | 1.4 (0.7 to 2.9); 0.35 |
| No. (%) of drugs | 85 | 68 | adjusted odds ratio*** (95% CI); p**-value | |||
| ACE inhibitor or A2RA | Seven months | 78 (91.8) | 61 (89.7) | 0.9 (0.2 to 3.4); 0.87 | ||
| β-blocker | Seven months | 68 (80) | 57 (83.8) | 0.7 (0.2 to 2.7); 0.58 | ||
| ACE inhibitor/A2RA and β-blocker | Seven months | 65 (76.5) | 53 (77.9) | 0.8 (0.2 to 2.9); 0.78 | ||
| Spirononolactone/Eplerenone | Seven months | 36 (42.4) | 16 (23.5) | 4.0 (1.2 to 13.0); 0.02 | ||
| Mean NT-proBNP- values (pg/ml) (SD) | Adjusted mean difference**** (95% CI); p**-value | |||||
| Crude | Baseline | 2462.5 (2821.5) | 87 | 2732.2 (5793.5) | 69 | |
| Transformed***** | 4.3 (1.0) | 4.1 (1.1) | ||||
| Crude | Seven months | 2031.6 (3575.4) | 71 | 1411.7 (2218.1) | 57 | 0.17 (-0.04 to 0.39); 0.11 |
| Transformed***** | 3.9 (1.1) | 3.6 (1.1) | ||||
| Mean practice attendances (SD) | Seven months | 24.0 (16.0) | 80 | 21.6 (15.3) | 67 | 3.9 (-2.9 to 10.7); 0.25 |
| Mean referrals to cardiologist (SD) | Seven months | 2.2 (2.5) | 85 | 2.2 (1.9) | 68 | -0.03 (-0.8 to 0.7); 0.93 |
*Poisson regression model comparing number of outcomes between groups
**Adjusted for recruitment site (cluster), baseline value, New York Heart Association class, age and gender
***According to generalised linear mixed effect models with a logit link using SAS proc glimmix to compare the number of outcomes between groups
****Based on analysis of covariance comparing results at seven–month follow-up
***** Due to a skewed distribution of NT-proBNP, logarithmic transformation was performed. Approximation to a normal density was achieved using the formula t = 2*log10(B+10)-2, where B denotes the raw NT-proBNP value[39]