Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Elderly Patients with Acute and Advanced Heart Failure: Palliative Care Needs-Analysis of the EPICTER Study.

Introduction: There are studies that evaluate the association between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure (HF) but there is little evidence regarding the prognosis of this comorbidity in older patients admitted for acute HF. In addition, little attention has been given to the extracardiac and extrapulmonary symptoms presented by patients with HF and COPD in more advanced stages. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic impact of COPD on mortality in elderly patients with acute and advanced HF and the clinical manifestations and management from a palliative point of view. Methods: The EPICTER study ("Epidemiological survey of advanced heart failure") is a cross-sectional, multicenter project that consecutively collected patients admitted for HF in 74 Spanish hospitals. Demographic, clinical, treatment, organ-dependent terminal criteria (NYHA III-IV, LVEF <20%, intractable angina, HF despite optimal treatment), and general terminal criteria (estimated survival <6 months, patient/family acceptance of palliative approach, and one of the following: evidence of HF progression, multiple Emergency Room visits or admissions in the last six months, 10% weight loss in the last six months, and functional impairment) were collected. Terminal HF was considered if the patient met at least one organ-dependent criterion and all the general criteria. Both groups (HF with COPD and without COPD) were compared. A Kaplan−Meier survival analysis was performed to evaluate the presence of COPD on the vital prognosis of patients with HF. Results: A total of 3100 patients were included of which 812 had COPD. In the COPD group, dyspnea and anxiety were more frequently observed (86.2% vs. 75.3%, p = 0.001 and 35.4% vs. 31.2%, p = 0.043, respectively). In patients with a history of COPD, presentation of HF was in the form of acute pulmonary edema (21% vs. 14.4% in patients without COPD, p = 0.0001). Patients with COPD more frequently suffered from advanced HF (28.9% vs. 19.4%; p < 0.001). Consultation with the hospital palliative care service during admission was more frequent when patients with HF presented with associated COPD (94% vs. 6.8%; p = 0.036). In-hospital and six-month follow-up mortality was 36.5% in patients with COPD vs. 30.7% in patients without COPD, p = 0.005. The mean number of hospital admissions during follow-up was higher in patients with HF and COPD than in those with isolated HF (0.63 ± 0.98 vs. 0.51 ± 0.84; p < 0.002). Survival analysis showed that patients with a history of COPD had fewer survival days during follow-up than those without COPD (log Rank chi-squared 4.895 and p = 0.027). Conclusions: patients with HF and COPD had more severe symptoms (dyspnea and anxiety) and also a worse prognosis than patients without COPD. However, the prognosis of patients admitted to our setting is poor and many patients with HF and COPD may not receive the assessment and palliative care support they need. Palliative care is necessary in chronic non-oncologic diseases, especially in multipathologic and symptom-intensive patients. This is a clinical care aspect to be improved and evaluated in future research studies.

The nutritional status of the elderly patient infected with COVID-19: the forgotten risk factor?

BACKGROUND: Since the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in Wuhan, the nutritional status of individuals infected with the virus has not been included in the risk profiles prepared. However, nutritional status, along with other factors, is decisive in the evolution of patients with other infectious diseases. The nutritional status of individuals is considered an indicator of health status. Furthermore, optimal nutritional status transcends the individual, and poor diet in a population can be considered a group risk factor. Evidence exists on the influence that diet has on the immune system and susceptibility to disease. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the nutritional status of patients older than 65 years who were admitted due to COVID-19 and how this has influenced the evolution of patients. DESIGN: This prospective and observational study was performed in patients with COVID-19 infection confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Data were collected from the first 24 h of admission. All patients admitted during one month to the wards assigned to COVID-19 infection were included. RESULTS: A total of 83 patients were studied. The statistical study of mortality showed associations with age (p = .005), living in a nursing home (p = .022), a high Charlson Comorbidity Index (p = .039), hypertension (p = .032), comorbidities of dementia (p = .019) and cerebral vascular disease (p = .041), and Barthel Index (p = .010). The analysis of the influence of the nutritional state on mortality revealed a statistical association between malnutrition and mortality in the pooled data analysis (p = .005) and analysis by degrees of malnutrition (p = .27). CONCLUSIONS: Malnutrition was a risk factor as powerful as others such as hypertension, age, and different comorbidities. We must evaluate and treat the nutritional status of elderly patients with COVID-19 infection since it directly affects their evolution.

Prioritization of patient-related factors according to renal function in antidiabetic drug selection: the REDIM Project.

AIMS: Few studies have evaluated how physicians prioritize renal function among other patient-related factors when stepping-up in antidiabetic treatment. METHODS: The REDIM Spanish national online survey included 550 internists. We firstly tested proficiency in chronic kidney disease (Agrawal's Questionnaire) and motivation in diabetes (DAS-3p Questionnaire). We then analyzed how physicians prioritized renal function, age, weight, glycemic control, non-renal co-morbidities and patient perceptions in five varying fictitious clinical scenarios (generic; ambulatory vs. high cardiovascular risk hospitalized patient, for estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFRs)=50 vs. 25 ml/min/1.73 m(2)). We assigned every item a score (from 5 to 0, highest to lowest relevance) per-physician and compared mean values between clinical scenarios using the t-test for independent means (nominal significance at p<0.05). RESULTS: Completion rate was 57.5% (N=316; mean age, 46.3 years; men, 71%). Average scores were 22.6 ± 3.9 (possible range [0-30]) for Agrawal's Questionnaire and 4.1 ± 0.6 (range [1-5]) for DAS-3p Questionnaire. In the generic scenario, renal function had the highest priority (mean=3.36 ± 1.66, range [0-5]). When eGFR was set at 50 ml/min/1.73 m(2), physicians prioritized glycemic control for ambulatory (mean=3.23 ± 1.59) and non-renal co-morbidities for hospitalized patients (mean=3.20 ± 1.68) over renal function (mean=3.18 ± 1.77 for ambulatory, p=0.032; mean=3.11 ± 1.65 for hospitalized patients, p=0.002). When eGFR was subsequently lowered to 25 ml/min/1.73 m(2), renal function again led priorities (mean values=3.73 ± 2.05 for ambulatory and 3.75 ± 1.96 for hospitalized patients; both p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge of the degree of renal function impairment induced physicians to prioritize patient-related factors differently when adding a second antidiabetic drug. Renal function led priorities when severely impaired.