Real World Use of Hypertonic Saline in Refractory Acute Decompensated Heart Failure: A U.S. Center's Experience.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate real world safety and efficacy of hypertonic saline therapy in cases of refractory acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) at a large U.S. academic medical center. BACKGROUND: Hypertonic saline therapy has been described as a potential management strategy for refractory ADHF, but experience in the United States is limited. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed in all patients receiving hypertonic saline for diuretic therapy-resistant ADHF at the authors' institution since March 2013. The primary analytic approach was a comparison of the trajectory of clinical variables prior to and after administration of hypertonic saline, with secondary focus on predictors of treatment response. RESULTS: A total of 58 hypertonic saline administration episodes were identified across 40 patients with diuretic-therapy refractory ADHF. Prior to hypertonic saline administration, serum sodium, chloride, and creatinine concentrations were worsening but improved after hypertonic saline administration (p < 0.001, all). Both total urine output and weight loss significantly improved with hypertonic saline (p = 0.01 and <0.001, respectively). Diuretic efficiency, defined as change in urine output per doubling of diuretic dose, also improved over this period (p < 0.01). There were no significant changes in respiratory status or overcorrection of serum sodium with the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: In a cohort of patients who were refractory to ADHF, hypertonic saline administration was associated with increased diuretic efficiency, fluid and weight loss, and improvement of metabolic derangements, and no adverse respiratory or neurological signals were identified. Additional study of hypertonic saline as a diuretic adjuvant is warranted.

Natriuretic Response Is Highly Variable and Associated With 6-Month Survival: Insights From the ROSE-AHF Trial.

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to describe sodium excretion in acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) clearly and to evaluate the prognostic ability of urinary sodium and fluid-based metrics. BACKGROUND: Sodium retention drives volume overload, with fluid retention largely a passive, secondary phenomenon. However, parameters (urine output, body weight) used to monitor therapy in ADHF measure fluid rather than sodium balance. Thus, the accuracy of fluid-based metrics hinges on the contested assumption that urinary sodium content is consistent. METHODS: Patients enrolled in the ROSE-AHF (Renal Optimization Strategies Evaluation-Acute Heart Failure) trial with 24-h sodium excretion available were studied (n = 316). Patients received protocol-driven high-dose loop diuretic therapy. RESULTS: Sodium excretion through the first 24 h was highly variable (range 0.12 to 19.8 g; median 3.63 g, interquartile range: 1.85 to 6.02 g) and was not correlated with diuretic agent dose (r = 0.06; p = 0.27). Greater sodium excretion was associated with reduced mortality in a univariate model (hazard ratio: 0.80 per doubling of sodium excretion; 95% confidence interval: 0.66 to 0.95; p = 0.01), whereas gross urine output (p = 0.43), net fluid balance (p = 0.87), and weight change (p = 0.11) were not. Sodium excretion of less than the prescribed dietary sodium intake (2 g), even in the setting of a negative net fluid balance, portended a worse prognosis (hazard ratio: 2.02; 95% confidence interval: 1.17 to 3.46; p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: In patients hospitalized with ADHF who were receiving high-dose loop diuretic agents, sodium concentration and excretion were highly variable. Sodium excretion was strongly associated with 6-month mortality, whereas traditional fluid-based metrics were not. Poor sodium excretion, even in the context of fluid loss, portends a worse prognosis.

Effect on Survival of Concurrent Hemoconcentration and Increase in Creatinine During Treatment of Acute Decompensated Heart Failure.

Hemoconcentration during the treatment of acute decompensated heart failure is a surrogate for plasma volume reduction and is associated with improved survival, but most definitions only allow for hemoconcentration to be determined retrospectively. An increase in serum creatinine can also be a marker of aggressive decongestion, but in isolation is not specific. Our objective was to determine if combined hemoconcentration and worsening creatinine could better identify patients that were aggressively treated and, as such, may have improved postdischarge outcomes. A total of 4,181 patients hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure were evaluated. Those who experienced both hemoconcentration and worsening creatinine at any point had a profile consistent with aggressive in-hospital treatment and longer length of stay (p <0.01), higher loop diuretic doses (p <0.001), greater weight (p = 0.001), and net fluid loss (p <0.001) compared with the remainder of the cohort. In isolation, neither worsening creatinine (p = 0.11) nor hemoconcentration (p = 0.36) at any time were associated with improved survival. However, patients who experienced both (21%) had significantly better survival (hazard ratio 0.80, 95% confidence interval 0.69 to 0.94, pinteraction = 0.005). In conclusion, this combination of hemoconcentration and worsening creatinine, which can be determined prospectively during patient care, was associated with in-hospital parameters consistent with aggressive diuresis and improved postdischarge survival.