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BACKGROUND: The impact of palliative care consultation on the management and outcomes of patients hospitalized with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains poorly understood. This study examined associations between palliative care consultation and in-hospital outcomes of patients hospitalized with OHCA, stratified by survival status. METHOD: This cross-sectional study used data from the National Inpatient Sample (2016-2021). Adult patients hospitalized with OHCA who received cardiopulmonary resuscitation were included. Multivariable analyses assessed associations between palliative care consultation and outcomes in non-terminal and terminal OHCA hospitalizations, adjusting for demographics, hospital characteristics, and comorbidities. RESULTS: Among 488,700 OHCA hospitalizations, palliative care consultation was associated with lower odds of invasive procedures in non-terminal hospitalizations, including percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (aOR 0.30, 95 % CI 0.25-0.36), mechanical circulatory support (aOR 0.54, 95 % CI 0.44-0.68), permanent pacemaker (aOR 0.27, 95 % CI 0.20-0.37), implantable cardioverter defibrillator insertion (aOR 0.22, 95 % CI 0.16-0.31), and cardioversion (aOR 0.62, 95 % CI 0.55-0.70). In terminal hospitalizations, palliative care was associated with lower odds of PCI (aOR 0.78, 95 % CI 0.70-0.87) and cardioversion (aOR 0.91, 95 % CI 0.85-0.97), but higher odds of therapeutic hypothermia (aOR 3.12, 95 % CI 2.72-3.59), gastrostomy (aOR 1.22, 95 % CI 1.05-1.41), and renal replacement therapy (aOR 1.19, 95 % CI 1.12-1.26). Palliative care was associated with higher DNR utilization in both subgroups and lower hospital costs in non-terminal hospitalizations but higher costs in terminal hospitalizations. CONCLUSION: Palliative care consultation in OHCA is associated with differences in invasive procedures, DNR utilization, and hospital costs, varying by survival status.
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BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in women. Despite this there is a paucity of data on the impact of sex on utilization and outcomes of temporary mechanical circulatory support (tMCS) in patients hospitalized with Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) Cardiogenic Shock (CS). METHODS: We examined the 2016-2019 National Inpatient Sample database to identify cases of AMI-CS. Men were used as our control group, while women comprised our cohort. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes included the use of tMCS including; left ventricular assist device (LVAD) use, Impella use, and Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump (IABP) use, length of stay (LOS) and total hospitalization cost (THC). Multivariate linear and logistic regression models were used to adjust for confounders. RESULTS: Among patients hospitalized for AMI (N = 2,622,939), 37.7 % were Female. A Female sex was associated with a higher inpatient mortality (adjusted OR [aOR] 1.06, p < 0.001), a lower likelihood of LVAD use (2.3 % vs. 2.9 % and p < 0.001), IABP use (3.0 % vs. 4.4 % and p < 0.001), Impella use (1.0 % vs. 1.5 % and p < 0.001), a longer mean LOS (4.4 vs 4.3 days and p < 0.001) and lower THC ($88,097 vs. $104,101, p < 0.001) compared to male patients for AMI-CS. CONCLUSION: Female patients admitted for AMI-CS were less likely to receive tMCS despite a higher mortality rate and a slightly longer LOS compared to male patients. Further studies are necessary to confirm these findings and elucidate clearer causality for such disparities.
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BACKGROUND: Patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) are at increased risk for sepsis/septic shock. METHOD: A retrospective study was conducted using the Nationwide Readmission Database (2016-2020). Adult patients admitted with sepsis or septic shock were identified and stratified based on the presence of underlying HFrEF. Multivariable logistic regression assessed the association between HFrEF and in-hospital mortality, 90-day readmission, and other complications. RESULTS: Among 7,326,930 sepsis/septic shock admissions, 6.2 % had HFrEF. HFrEF patients had higher in-hospital mortality (17 % vs. 9.6 %, p < 0.01) and 90-day readmission rates (30.2 % vs. 22.5 %, p < 0.01) compared to those without HFrEF. These differences persisted after adjustment with increased risk of in-hospital mortality (aOR 1.40, 95 %CI 1.38-1.42) and 90-day readmission (aOR 1.15, 95 %CI 1.13-1.16). CONCLUSION: HFrEF patients admitted with sepsis/septic shock have significantly higher rates of in-hospital mortality, complications, and 90-day readmissions compared to those without HFrEF.
Subject(s)
Databases, Factual , Heart Failure , Hospital Mortality , Patient Readmission , Sepsis , Shock, Septic , Stroke Volume , Humans , Patient Readmission/statistics & numerical data , Female , Male , Heart Failure/physiopathology , Heart Failure/epidemiology , Heart Failure/therapy , Heart Failure/mortality , Stroke Volume/physiology , Retrospective Studies , Hospital Mortality/trends , Aged , Shock, Septic/physiopathology , Shock, Septic/mortality , Shock, Septic/therapy , Shock, Septic/epidemiology , United States/epidemiology , Middle Aged , Sepsis/epidemiology , Sepsis/physiopathology , Sepsis/mortality , Aged, 80 and over , Risk Factors , Time FactorsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Patients with Adrenal Insufficiency (AI) face elevated cardiovascular risks, but little remains known about arrhythmia outcomes in this context. METHOD: Analyzing the 2016-2019 Nationwide Inpatient Sample, we identified cases of Atrial Fibrillation, Atrial Flutter, and paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) with a secondary diagnosis of AI. Mortality was the primary outcome while vasopressors and/or mechanical ventilation use, length of stay (LOS), and total hospitalization charges (THC) constituted secondary outcomes. Multivariate linear and logistic regression models were used to adjust for confounders. RESULTS: Among patients with Atrial Fibrillation, Atrial Flutter, and PSVT (N=1,556,769), 0.2% had AI. AI was associated with higher mortality (adjusted OR [aOR] 2.29, p=0.001), vasopressor and/or mechanical ventilation use (aOR 2.54, p<0.001), THC ($62,347 vs. $41,627, p<0.001) and longer LOS (4.4 vs. 3.2 days, p<0.001) compared to no AI. CONCLUSION: AI was associated with higher adverse outcomes in cases of Atrial Fibrillation, Atrial Flutter, and PSVT.
Subject(s)
Adrenal Insufficiency , Atrial Fibrillation , Atrial Flutter , Tachycardia, Supraventricular , Humans , Male , Female , Atrial Fibrillation/therapy , Atrial Fibrillation/epidemiology , Atrial Flutter/therapy , Atrial Flutter/epidemiology , Aged , Middle Aged , Tachycardia, Supraventricular/epidemiology , Tachycardia, Supraventricular/therapy , Tachycardia, Supraventricular/etiology , Tachycardia, Supraventricular/diagnosis , Adrenal Insufficiency/epidemiology , Adrenal Insufficiency/diagnosis , United States/epidemiology , Retrospective Studies , Length of Stay/statistics & numerical data , Risk Factors , Tachycardia, Paroxysmal/physiopathology , Tachycardia, Paroxysmal/therapy , Tachycardia, Paroxysmal/diagnosisABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Literature illustrates an association between adverse outcomes and lower socioeconomic status (SES) in patients with critical cardiovascular presentations; however. limited data exist on complete heart block (CHB) outcomes in the context of SES. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess the association of SES (using zip code income quartiles) with the outcomes of CHB cases. METHODS: We queried the 2016-2019 Nationwide Inpatient Sample and identified CHB as the primary diagnosis. We compared in-hospital outcomes based on zip code mean income quartiles (≤2 [< $59,000] vs ≥3). The primary outcome was mortality. Secondary outcomes included total and early permanent pacemaker (PPM) and temporary pacemaker (TPM) use, cardiogenic shock, palliative care involvement, mechanical ventilation use, length of stay (LOS), and total charges. Multivariable regression models were used to adjust for potential confounders. RESULTS: Of 150,265 CHB hospitalizations, 76,635 (51%) involved patients with a lower income quartile. Lower quartiles were associated with lower odds of early PPM use (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.86; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.81-0.90) and higher odds of in-hospital mortality (aOR 1.23; 95% CI 1.05-1.46), total TPM use (aOR 1.08; 95% CI 1.02-1.14), palliative care (aOR 1.2; 95% CI 1.02-1.43), mechanical ventilation use (aOR 1.11; 95% CI 1.01-1.23), cardiogenic shock (aOR 1.15; 95% CI 1.01-1.31), and longer LOS (4 days vs 3.6 days; P <.001) compared to patients in higher quartiles. CONCLUSION: Patients with lower income admitted for CHB were less likely to receive an early PPM and had higher adverse outcomes compared to patients with higher income.
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Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Hyperlipidemia, particularly elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is one of the major risk factors for CVD. Major landmark cardiovascular outcome clinical trials demonstrated that LDL-C lowering medications reduce cardiovascular events, and the lower the LDL-C the better the outcome. This article discusses the evolution of LDL-C lowering medications starting from bile acid sequestrants (BAS), statin therapy, bempedoic acid, the proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin 9 (PCSK9) synthesis inhibitor, novel small interfering RNA-based therapy (inclisiran) to the most recent oral PCSK9 inhibitors (MK-0616) which is currently under phase 3 clinical trial studies.
Subject(s)
Cardiovascular Diseases , Cholesterol, LDL , Humans , Cardiovascular Diseases/prevention & control , Cardiovascular Diseases/drug therapy , Cholesterol, LDL/blood , Anticholesteremic Agents/therapeutic use , Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors/therapeutic use , PCSK9 Inhibitors , Dicarboxylic Acids , Fatty Acids , RNA, Small InterferingABSTRACT
Consumer-grade smart devices, including smartwatches and smartphones, are potentially valuable tools in detecting cardiac arrhythmias, particularly atrial fibrillation, and their use is increasing. These devices, which use photoplethys mography, show remarkably high sensitivity and specificity for detection of atrial fibrillation, with implications for stroke prevention and management in at-risk patients. The ability of the devices to detect atrial fibrillation is being compared with single-lead electrocardiography. Physicians will increasingly be asked to interpret data from these nonmedical-grade devices as they become more common. Limitations include high false-positive rates in certain populations and disparities in access.