Short term prognosis of heart failure after first hospital admission

Background: Death and unexpected readmission are frequent among heart failure patients. We aimed to assess 30-day readmission and mortality rate as well as to identify predictive factors for patients discharged from a first HF related hospital admission. Methods and results: Retrospective, single-center, cohort study, using administrative data from a tertiary care hospital in Barcelona, Spain. Patients discharged alive from a first HF related admission from 2010 to 2014 were assessed for 30-day death, readmission and adverse outcome rate. A Linear Logistic Regression Model was fitted for each outcome. The set accounted for 3642 patients; 50.1% female and 49.9% male. Mean age was 76 years (SD = 12). 30-Days rates were 9.2% for readmission, 5.6% for death and 13.8% for adverse outcome. Admission to an ED within 30 days was strongly linked to readmission (OR= 6.97), death (OR= 2.31) and adverse outcome (OR = 8.55), as well as chronic kidney disease (OR = 1.44/1.61/2.86 respectively). Discharge to a Long Stay Care (LSC) facility was linked to lower readmission and adverse event rates (OR = .57 and OR = .15). Conclusion: Pre and post-index discharge use of health care resources is related to adverse outcome rates. Our findings point out the potential benefit for a more tailored approach in the management of HF patients. (C) 2019 Elsevier Espafia, S.L.U. All rights reserved.