Quality of life in patients with advanced heart failure and an implanted left ventricular assist device: an umbrella review protocol.

Objective: This review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of implanted left ventricular assist devices on quality of life in patients with advanced heart failure.

Introduction: Approximately 500,000 patients worldwide are diagnosed with advanced heart failure. The preferred treatment for patients who remain symptomatic after standard medical treatment is heart transplantation. However, due to the shortage of donor organs, left ventricular assist devices are increasingly used as an alternative. This umbrella review is necessary to advise clinicians so they may provide patients and families with clear information on standard medical treatment, implanted left ventricular assist devices and heart transplantation.

Inclusion criteria: This umbrella review will consider research syntheses that include patients 16 years or over with advanced heart failure and an implanted left ventricular assist device. The primary outcome is quality of life, and secondary outcomes include patient survival rates and the New York Heart Association functional classification changes.

Methods: An initial search of PubMed and CINAHL has been undertaken to identify articles and create a search strategy. Retrieved articles will be screened against the inclusion criteria. Included studies will be critically appraised for methodological quality according to JBI umbrella review methodology, and data will be extracted using the standardized JBI data extraction tool. The results will be presented in a Summary of Evidence, and a GRADE Summary of Findings will be produced for grading the quality of the evidence.