Readmission-free period and in-hospital mortality at the time of first readmission in acute heart failure patients-NRD-based analysis of 40,000 heart failure readmissions.

The 30-day readmission rates, predictors, and outcomes for acute heart failure (AHF) patients are well published, but data beyond 30 days and the association between readmission-free period (RFP) and in-hospital readmission-related mortality remain unknown. We queried the National Readmission Database to analyze comparative outcomes of AHF. Patients were divided into three groups based on their RFP: group 1 (1-30 days), group 2 (31-90 days), and group 3 (91-275 days). AHF cases and clinical variables were identified using ICD-9 codes. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality at the time of readmission. A total of 39,237 unplanned readmissions occurred within 275 days; 15,181 within group 1, 11,925 within group 2, and 12,131 within group 3. In-hospital mortality in groups 1, 2, and 3 were 7.4%, 5.1%, and 4.1% (p \u3c 0.001). Group 1 had higher percentages of patients with cardiogenic shock (1.3% vs. 0.9% vs. 0.9%; p \u3c 0.001), acute kidney injury (30.2% vs. 25.9% vs. 24.0%; p \u3c 0.001), dialysis use (8.6% vs. 7.5% vs. 6.9%; p \u3c 0.001), and non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (4.4% vs. 3.8% vs. 3.6%; p \u3c 0.001), but there was no statistical difference among the three groups for ST-elevation myocardial infarction, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), or ventricular assist device use at the time of index admission. However, group 3 had higher PCI (1.7%) compared with groups 1 and 2 (p \u3c 0.001). In multivariable logistic regression, groups 2 and 3 had odd ratio of 0.70 and 0.55, respectively, for in-hospital mortality compared with group 1. Longer RFP is associated with decreased risk of in-hospital mortality at the time of first readmission

Correction to: Readmission-free period and in-hospital mortality at the time of first readmission in acute heart failure patients-NRD-based analysis of 40,000 heart failure readmissions.

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. Unfortunately, the name of one of the authors (Dr. Pradhum Ram) has been misspelled as (Prathaum Ram) instead

Readmission-Free Period and In-Hospital Mortality at the Time of First Readmission in Acute Heart Failure Patients

Introduction: Heart Failure (HF) is the most common cause of hospital readmission in the USA with annual readmission costs of $2 Billion. Historically, readmissions were associated with poor health outcomes and been a primary focus for policymakers. Hypothesis: Readmission-free period (RFP) between an index HF admission and the subsequent readmission is an important marker to identify HF patients at high mortality risk. Shorter RFP correlates with significantly higher mortality. Methods: We identified 75,410 index admission with Acute HF in the 2014 Nationwide Readmission Database. We excluded patients \u3c 18 years, died during an index admission, same-day readmission, and patients with missing length of stay (LOS). Only patients with ≥1 readmission within 9 months were included. In-patient mortality, LOS, and RFP were calculated. Results:A total of 39,248 patients met inclusion criteria. Cases were divided into three groups: Readmitted (i) within 30 days: 15,181 patients, (ii) within 31-90 days: 11,925 patients, (iii) \u3e90 days: 12,131 patients. Median age was 64 years, 48% were females. In-hospital mortality was higher in patients admitted within 30 days (7.4% in Group 1 vs. 5.1% and 4.1% in Groups 2 and 3); p Conclusions: The length between index heart failure admission and the first readmission inversely correlates with in-hospital mortality. RFP might be utilized as a maker to identify the subset of heart failure patients at higher mortality risk upon readmission

Left ventricular thrombosis in acute anterior myocardial infarction: Evaluation of hospital mortality, thromboembolism, and bleeding.

BACKGROUND: Left ventricular thrombosis (LVT) is a well-known complication of acute myocardial infarction, most commonly seen in anterior wall ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). It is associated with systemic thromboembolism. HYPOTHESIS: Our aim was to evaluate the impact of LVT on in-hospital mortality, thromboembolism, and bleeding in patients with anterior STEMI. METHODS: Data was collected from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample where patients with a primary diagnosis of Anterior STEMI [ICD9-CM code 410.1] were included. Comparisons were made between patients with LVT [ICD9-CM code 429.79] vs those without using propensity score matching (PSM). RESULTS: From 2002 to 2014, there were 157 891 cases of anterior STEMI. Among these, 649 (0.4%) had LVT. Post-PSM, there was no difference in in-hospital mortality between the groups with LVT and without (7.3% vs 8.6%). Thromboembolic event rate was higher with LVT compared to those without LVT (7.3% vs 2.1%). There was no difference in bleeding events between patients with LVT and those without (2.9% vs 3.2%). The baseline average length of stay in the group with LVT was longer than the group without LVT (7.9 ± 6.7 days vs 5.1 ± 6.0 days). The average hospitalization-related costs were also significantly higher among patients with LVT compared to those without (95 598 USD vs 66 641 USD per stay) at baseline. CONCLUSION: Among patients hospitalized with anterior STEMI, presence of LVT is associated with increased thromboembolic events, average length of hospital stay and average cost of hospitalization. However, it is not associated with increased in-hospital mortality or bleeding events

Etiologies, predictors, and economic impact of readmission within 1 month among patients with takotsubo cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: Limited data exist on readmission among patients with takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC), a commonly reversible cause of heart failure. HYPOTHESIS: We sought to identify etiologies and predictors for readmission among TC patients. METHODS: We queried the National Readmissions Database for 2013-2014 to identify patients with primary admission for TC using ICD-9-CM code 429.83. Patients readmitted to hospital within 1 month after discharge were further evaluated to identify etiologies, predictors, and resultant economic burden of readmission. Additionally, we analyzed readmission for TC at 6 months. RESULTS: We studied 5997 patients admitted with TC, of whom 1.2% experienced in-hospital mortality. Median age was 67 years, with 91.5% being female. Among survivors, 10.3% were readmitted within 1 month; 25% of the initial 1-month readmissions occurred within 4 days, 50% within 10 days, and 75% within 20 days from discharge. The most common etiologies for readmission were cardiac (26%), respiratory (16%), and gastrointestinal (11%) causes. Heart failure was the most common cardiac etiology. Significant predictors of increased 1-month readmission included systemic thromboembolic events, length of stay ≥3 days, and underlying psychoses. Obesity and private insurance predicted lower 1-month readmission. The annual national cost impact for index admission and 1-month readmissions was ≈$112 million. Recurrent TC was seen among 1.9% of patients readmitted within 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: Though the overall rate of 1-month readmission following TC is low, associated economic burden from readmission is still significant. Patients are readmitted mostly for noncardiac causes. Readmission for another episode of TC within 6 months was uncommon

Hospital mortality and thirty day readmission among patients with non-acute myocardial infarction related cardiogenic shock.

BACKGROUND: Cardiogenic shock (CS) in absence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has significant morbidity and mortality. This population of patients has been excluded from prior major randomized trials and observational studies. METHODS: We included patients with CS in absence of AMI from the 2013-14 HCUP\u27s National Readmission Database. 30-day readmissions were studied and etiology for readmission was identified by using ICD-9CM codes in primary diagnosis field. Multivariable mixed effect logistic regression models were created to identify predictors of 30-day readmission and in-hospital mortality, respectively. RESULTS: We studied 38,198 index admissions with non-AMI CS, with an in-hospital mortality of 35.4%. Mean age, length and cost of stay were 63.6 years, 16.9 days and 69,947$, respectively among survivors of index admission. Among those discharged, 22.6% were readmitted within 30 days with \u3e50% readmissions occurring within 11-days. Cardiovascular etiologies (42.3%), especially heart failure (24.0%) comprised the commonest reason for readmission. Among non-cardiac causes were infectious (11.7%) and respiratory (9.2%) etiologies. Older age (50-64 years odds ratio:1.29, 65-79 years, OR:1.59, ≥80 years OR:2.69), ventilator use (OR:4.25), sepsis (OR:1.12), use of short term devices (intra-aortic balloon pump OR:2.67, Impella/TandemHeart OR:4.84, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation OR:3.68) and non-ischemic cardiomyopathy(OR:0.65) were among the predictors of in-hospital mortality. Older age (65-79 years, OR:1.25, ≥80 years OR:1.41), male sex (OR:1.08), and ventilator use (OR:1.21) predicted higher 30-day readmission. CONCLUSION: Both, in-hospital mortality and 30-day readmission among those admitted for non-AMI CS were significantly elevated. The majority of readmissions were due to non-cardiovascular causes. Identifying high-risk factors may help devise strategies to improve quality of care and reduce adverse outcome rates

Mortality in sepsis: Comparison of outcomes between patients with demand ischemia, acute myocardial infarction and neither demand ischemia nor acute myocardial infarction.

INTRODUCTION: Elevation in cardiac troponins is common among septic patients. We sought to explore outcomes among those admitted with demand ischemia(DI), acute myocardial infarction(AMI) and neither DI nor AMI in sepsis. METHODS: We analyzed data from the 2011-2014 National Inpatient Sample among patients admitted for sepsis. We compared outcomes among sepsis patients with i)DI versus AMI and ii)DI versus neither DI nor AMI using separate propensity matched cohorts. The primary end-point was in-hospital mortality. RESULTS: We studied 666,154 patients, mean age being 63.7 years, and 50.8% participants being female. Overall, 94.7% of the included patients had neither DI nor AMI, 4.4% had AMI and 0.83% had DI. Between 2011 and 2014, we observed an increasing trend for DI but decreasing trend for AMI in sepsis. Patients with DI experienced higher rates of atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, had longer length of stay and higher cost of stay when compared to patients with neither demand ischemia nor AMI. Despite higher hospital mortality at baseline with DI, post-propensity matching revealed no difference in hospital mortality between patients with DI and those with neither (26.9% vs. 27.0%, adjusted odds ratio 0.99, 95% confidence intervals 0.92-1.07;p=0.87). Patients with DI experienced lower hospital mortality compared to those with AMI pre (28.5% vs. 48.3%;p CONCLUSION: Among patients with sepsis, those with DI had similar adjusted in-hospital mortality compared to those with neither DI nor AMI. Patients with AMI had the highest in-hospital mortality among all groups. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Etiologies, Predictors, and Economic Impact of 30-Day Readmissions Among Patients With Peripartum Cardiomyopathy.

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a pregnancy-associated cause of heart failure. Given the significant impact of heart failure on healthcare, we sought to identify etiologies and predictive factors for readmission in PPCM. We queried the 2013 to 2014 National Readmissions Database to identify patients admitted with a diagnosis of PPCM. Patients who were readmitted within 30 days were evaluated to identify etiologies and predictors of readmission. We identified 6,977 index admissions with PPCM. Of the 6,880 (98.6%) patients who survived the index hospitalization, 30-day readmission rate was 13%. Seventy-six percent of readmitted patients were admitted once, and the other 24% were readmitted at least twice within 30 days of discharge. Length of stay was ≥8 days (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.80, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.08 to 3.77), multiparity (aOR 2.07, 95% CI 1.09 to 3.92), coronary artery disease (aOR 2.28, 95% CI 1.42 to 3.67), and long-term anticoagulation use (aOR 2.51, 95% CI 1.73 to 3.64) were independently associated with increased risk of 30-day readmission. Among the readmissions, 48% were due to cardiac causes, where PPCM and related complications (24%) were the most common cardiac cause followed by heart failure (16%). The annual cost of stay for index admissions was $64.2 million (average cost for index admission was$16,892). The annual charges attributed to readmission within 30 days were ≈$9 million. Cardiac etiologies were the most common cause for 30-day readmissions in PPCM patients, with a readmission rate of 13%. Long-term anticoagulation use, multiparity, coronary disease and length of stay predicted higher 30-day readmission

Burden and trends of arrhythmias in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and its impact of mortality and resource utilization.

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) accounts for significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Arrhythmias are considered the main cause of mortality, however, there is paucity of data relating to trends of arrhythmia and associated outcomes in HCM patients. Methods: Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 2003 to 2014 was analyzed. HCM related hospitalizations were identified using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD9-CM) code 425.1 and 425.11 in all diagnosis fields. Results: Overall, there was an increase in number of hospitalizations related to arrhythmias among HCM patients from 7784 in 2003 to 8380 in 2014 (relative increase 10.5%, Conclusion: There is overall decline in HCM related hospitalizations but rise in hospitalization among HCM patients with arrhythmias. HCM with arrhythmia accounts for significant inpatient mortality coupled with prolonged hospital stay and increased cost of care. However, there is an encouraging downtrend in the mortality most likely because of improved clinical practice, cardiac screening and primary and secondary prevention strategies

Etiologies, Trends, and Predictors of 30-Day Readmission in Patients With Heart Failure.

Heart failure (HF) is the most common discharge diagnosis across the United States, and these patients are particularly vulnerable to readmissions, increasing attention to potential ways to address the problem. The study cohort was derived from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project\u27s National Readmission Data 2013, sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. HF was identified using appropriate International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes. Readmission was defined as a subsequent hospital admission within 30 days after discharge day of index admission. Readmission causes were identified using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, codes in primary diagnosis filed. The primary outcome was 30-day readmission. Hierarchical 2-level logistic models were used to evaluate study outcomes. From a total 301,892 principal admissions (73.4% age ≥65 years and 50.6% men), 55,857 (18.5%) patients were readmitted with a total of 64,264 readmissions during the study year. Among the etiologies of readmission, cardiac causes (49.8%) were most common (HF being most common followed by coronary artery disease and arrhythmias), whereas pulmonary causes were responsible for 13.1% and renal causes for 8.9% of the readmissions. Significant predictors of increased 30-day readmission included diabetes (odds ratio, 95% confidence interval, p value: 1.06, 1.03 to 1.08,