Quality of Life in Older Patients after a Heart Failure Hospitalization: Results from the SENECOR Study.

Background: Information about health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in heart failure (HF) in older adults is scarce. Methods: We aimed to describe the HRQoL of the SENECOR study cohort, a single-center, randomized trial comparing the effects of multidisciplinary intervention by a geriatrician and a cardiologist (intervention group) to that of a cardiologist alone (control group) in older patients with a recent HF hospitalization. Results: HRQoL was assessed by the short version of the disease-specific Kansas Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ-12) in 141 patients at baseline and was impaired (KCCQ-12 < 75) in almost half of the cohort. Women comprised 50% of the population, the mean age was 82.2 years, and two-thirds of patients had preserved ejection fraction. Comorbidities were highly prevalent. Patients with impaired HRQoL had a worse NYHA functional class, a lower NT-proBNP, a lower Barthel index, and a higher Clinical Frailty Scale. One-year all-cause mortality was 22.7%, significantly lower in the group with good-to-excellent HRQoL (14.5% vs. 30.6%; hazard ratio 0.28; 95% confidence interval 0.10−0.78; p = 0.014). In the group with better HRQoL, all-cause hospitalization was lower, and there was a trend towards lower HF hospitalization. Conclusions: The KCCQ-12 questionnaire can provide inexpensive prognostic information even in older patients with HF. (Funded by grant Primitivo de la Vega, Fundación MAPFRE. ClinicalTrials number, NCT03555318).

Hospitalization-related economic impact of patients with cardiogenic shock in a high-complexity reference centre.

AIMS: Cardiogenic shock (CS) is associated with high mortality. Current guidelines strongly recommend centralizing the care of these patients in high-complexity centres. We described the hospitalization-related economic cost and its main determinants in patients with CS in a high-complexity reference centre. METHODS AND RESULTS: This is a single-centre, retrospective study. All patients with CS (2015-17) were included. Hospitalization-related cost per patient was calculated by analytical accountability method, including hospital stay-related expenditures, interventions, and consumption of devices. Expenditure was expressed in 2018 euros. All-cause mortality during follow-up was registered. Ratio of cost per life-year gained (LYG) was also calculated. A total of 230 patients were included, with mean age of 63 years. In-hospital mortality was 88/230 (38.3%). Hospital stay was longer in patients surviving after the admission (21.7 vs. 7.5 days, P < 0.001). Total economic cost for the overall cohort was 3 947 118€ (mean/patient 17 161€). Most of this cost was attributable to hospital stay (81.1%). The rest of the expenditure was due to in-hospital procedures (13.1%) and the use of devices (5.8%). Most of hospital stay-related costs (79.8%) were due to Critical Care Unit stay. Mean follow-up was 651 days. Total LYG was 409.77 years for the whole series. The observed ratio of cost per LYG was 9632.52 €/LYG. CONCLUSIONS: Management of CS in a reference centre is associated to a significant economic cost, but with a low ratio of cost per LYG. Most of this cost is attributable to hospital stay, specifically in critical care units.

Surface respiratory electromyography and dyspnea in acute heart failure patients.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Dyspnea is the most common symptom among hospitalized patients with heart failure (HF) but besides dyspnea questionnaires (which reflect the subjective patient sensation and are not fully validated in HF) there are no measurable physiological variables providing objective assessment of dyspnea in a setting of acute HF patients. Studies performed in respiratory patients suggest that the measurement of electromyographic (EMG) activity of the respiratory muscles with surface electrodes correlates well with dyspnea. Our aim was to test the hypothesis that respiratory muscles EMG activity is a potential marker of dyspnea severity in acute HF patients. METHODS: Prospective and descriptive pilot study carried out in 25 adult patients admitted for acute HF. Measurements were carried out with a cardio-respiratory portable polygraph including EMG surface electrodes for measuring the activity of main (diaphragm) and accessory (scalene and pectoralis minor) respiratory muscles. Dyspnea sensation was assessed by means of the Likert 5 questionnaire. Data were recorded during 3 min of spontaneous breathing and after breathing at maximum effort for several cycles for normalizing data. An index to quantify the activity of each respiratory muscle was computed. This assessment was carried out within the first 24 h of admission, and at day 2 and 5. RESULTS: Dyspnea score decreased along the three measured days. Diaphragm and scalene EMG index showed a positive and significant direct relationship with dyspnea score (p<0.001 and p = 0.003 respectively) whereas pectoralis minor muscle did not. CONCLUSION: In our pilot study, diaphragm and scalene EMG activity was associated with increasing severity of dyspnea. Surface respiratory EMG could be a useful objective tool to improve assessment of dyspnea in acute HF patients.