Author(s):
Marques-Alves, Patricia ; Marinho, Ana Vera ; Almeida, José Paulo ; Gonçalves, Tatiana ; Costa, Marta ; Ferreira, Mafalda ; Baptista, Rui ; Costa, Susana ; Franco, Fátima ; Fonseca, Isabel ; Gonçalves, Lino
Date: 2020
Persistent ID: https://hdl.handle.net/10316/106030
Origin: Estudo Geral - Universidade de Coimbra
Subject(s): Acute heart failure; Emergency department; Epidemiology; Mortality; In-hospital mortality; Readmission rates; Hospitalization; Predictors of prognosis; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Female; Humans; Male; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain; Portugal; Retrospective Studies; Heart Failure; Patient Readmission
Description
Aims In Portugal, in the last 5 years, no study has published recent data regarding outcomes of patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). We aimed to determine the characteristics and outcomes of a large contemporaneous Portuguese cohort of ADHF patients admitted to our emergency department (ED). Methods and results We conducted a retrospective, study of all 1024 patients admitted to our ED with a discharge diagnosis of ADHF from November 2016 to December 2017. Baseline clinical data and outcomes {in-hospital, 30 day, and follow-up allcause mortality, and readmissions; median follow-up, 5 months; interquartile range [(IQR), 3–11 months]} were determined. Mean age was 78 ± 10 years, and 53% were male; of the 1024 patients, 554 (54%) were hospitalized. The median hospitalization length was 9 (IQR, 5–15) days, and in-hospital mortality was 12.7%. Hospitalized patients were predominantly men (56% vs. 47%; P < 0.001), younger (77 ± 9 vs. 79 ± 11 years; P = 0.002) and had higher creatinine values and B-type natriuretic peptide values (P < 0.001) than discharged patients. Patients with prior hospitalization had lower 30 day readmission rate (8% vs. 14%; P = 0.01), same overall readmission rate (30% vs. 32%), and higher 30 day (13% vs. 5%; P < 0.001) and overall mortality rates (28% vs. 15%; P < 0.001). Conclusions Approximately half of the patients admitted to the ED were hospitalized. Of these, only 8% were readmitted in the ED within 30 days. The clinical and analytical status in the ED are important predictors of hospitalization.
