PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - P Banerjee
AU  - G Tanner
AU  - L Williams
TI  - Intravenous diuretic day-care treatment for patients with heart failure
AID  - 10.7861/clinmedicine.12-2-133
DP  - 2012 Apr 01
TA  - Clinical Medicine
PG  - 133--136
VI  - 12
IP  - 2
4099  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/12/2/133.short
4100  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/12/2/133.full
SO  - Clin Med2012 Apr 01; 12
AB  - Fluid overload is a common manifestation of decompensated chronic heart failure. This paper reports on a pilot study that investigated whether intravenous (iv) furosemide administered on a cardiology day ward for three successive days was effective in improving the symptoms of patients with fluid overload and chronic heart failure. The results showed that 94.1% of patients reported an improvement in their breathlessness, with a marked weight loss in 88.2% of patients. There were no marked changes in blood pressure or renal function. Hospital admission was avoided in 94.1% of cases. The study concluded that iv diuretic treatment given in a hospital day-care setting is safe and effective, and that it reduces the need for hospital admissions. As a consequence, this reduces the associated financial costs of hospitalisation.