Prognostic Value of BNP Reduction During Hospitalization in Patients With Acute Heart Failure

BackgroundPrognostication of patients discharged after acute heart failure (AHF) hospitalization remains challenging. Body weight (BW) reduction is often used as a surrogate marker of decongestion despite the paucity of evidence. We thought to test the hypothesis that B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) reduction during hospitalization has independent prognostic value in AHF.Methods and ResultsWe studied the prognostic predictability of percentage BNP reduction achieved during hospitalization in patients from the REALITY-AHF study. Percentage BNP reduction was defined as (BNP on admission ? BNP at discharge) / BNP on admission × 100. The primary endpoint was 1-year all-cause death. In 1028 patients (age, 77 ± 13 years; 57% male; left ventricular ejection fraction, 47 ± 16%) with AHF, median BNP level at admission was 747 ng/L (interquartile range, 439–1367 ng/L) and median percentage BNP reduction was 62.5% (interquartile range, 36.5–78.5%). The smallest percentage BNP reduction quartile had more than 2-fold higher risk of all-cause death than the greatest quartile (23.0% vs 9.7%, P< .001). After adjusting for covariates including BNP at discharge, the percentage BNP reduction was significantly associated with all-cause death (hazard ratio 0.96, 95% confidence interval 0.93–0.99, P= .032), whereas percentage BW reduction was not. Percentage BNP reduction was more predictive in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction than in those with preserved ejection fraction.ConclusionsThe prognostic value of percentage BNP reduction during hospitalization was superior to that of percentage BW reduction and was independent of other risk markers, including BNP at discharge.     

Outcomes and Predictors of Mortality Among Cardiac Intensive Care Unit Patients With Heart Failure

BackgroundLittle is known regarding the causes of critical illness and determinants of prognosis of patients with heart failure (HF) admitted to the modern cardiac intensive care unit (CICU). We sought to describe the epidemiology and outcomes of patients with HF admitted to the contemporary CICU.Methods and ResultsRetrospective cohort analysis of Mayo Clinic CICU patients admitted with HF from 2007 to 2018 who had left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) data. HF with reduced LVEF (HFrEF) was defined as a LVEF of less than 50%, and HF with preserved LVEF (HFpEF) as a LVEF of 50% or greater. In-hospital mortality was analyzed using multivariable logistic regression. Survival to 1 year was analyzed using a Kaplan–Meier analysis. We included 4012 patients, including 67.8% with HFrEF and 32.2% with HFpEF. Patients with HFrEF and HFpEF were comparable and had equivalent severity of illness. Critical care therapies were used in 59.4%, with a slight preponderance in patients with HFrEF. In-hospital mortality occurred in 12.5% of patients and was similar in HFrEF vs HFpEF. Shock and cardiac arrest were the strongest predictors of adjusted in-hospital mortality, followed by Braden skin score and serum chloride level; patients with HFrEF and HFpEF had similar adjusted mortality rates. The 1-year survival after hospital discharge was 74.5% and was slightly lower for patients with HFpEF. All-cause rehospitalization occurred in 36.6%, and 52.8% of hospital survivors died or were readmitted within 1 year.ConclusionsCICU patients with HF have a substantial burden of critical illness, high use of critical care therapies, and poor outcomes regardless of LVEF. This finding emphasizes the potential unmet care needs in this cohort.Lay summaryPatients with heart failure who require admission to the cardiac intensive care unit have high severity of illness and are at significant risk of death during and after hospitalization. These patients often require specialized critical care therapies to treat manifestations of critical illness. Patients who are admitted with cardiac arrest or shock, including those who require mechanical ventilation or vasopressors, are at particularly high risk of death. Patients’ left ventricular ejection fraction is not strongly associated with the risk of death when accounting for other major predictors including frailty and laboratory abnormalities.     

Quality of Heart Failure Care in the Intensive Care Unit

Patients with heart failure (HF) who are seen in an intensive care unit (ICU) manifest the highest-risk, most complex and most resource-intensive disease states. These patients account for a large relative proportion of days spent in an ICU. The paradigms by which critical care is provided to patients with HF are being reconsidered, including consideration of various multidisciplinary ICU staffing models and the development of acute-response teams. Traditional HF quality initiatives have centered on the peri- and postdischarge period in attempts to improve adherence to guideline-directed therapies and reduce readmissions. There is a compelling rationale for expanding high-quality efforts in treating patients with HF who are receiving critical care so we can improve outcomes, reduce preventable harm, improve teamwork and resource use, and achieve high health-system performance. Our goal is to answer the following question: For a patient with HF in the ICU, what is required for the provision of high-quality care? Herein, we first review the epidemiology of HF syndromes in the ICU and identify relevant critical care and quality stakeholders in HF. We next discuss the tenets of high-quality care for patients with HF in the ICU that will optimize critical care outcomes, such as ICU staffing models and evidence-based management of cardiac and noncardiac disease. We discuss strategies to mitigate preventable harm, improve ICU culture and conduct outcomes review, and we conclude with our summative vision of high-quality of ICU care for patients with HF; our vision includes clinical excellence, teamwork and ICU culture.     

Extracorporeal Liver Support Therapy With Prometheus in Patients With Liver Failure in the Intensive Care Unit

Acute liver failure (ALF) and acute‐on‐chronic liver failure (AoCLF) are associated with a high mortality. In these patients an accumulation of both water‐soluble and water‐insoluble, protein‐bound, metabolic waste products occurs. Conventional extracorporeal blood purification techniques based on diffusion and/or convection such as hemodialysis or hemofiltration may only eliminate small molecular weight, water‐soluble compounds. In recent years, fractionated plasma separation and adsorption (FPSA) with the Prometheus system has been introduced for extracorporeal liver support therapy. To date, however, only limited data is available regarding the effect of this treatment on mortality and outcome of patients with advanced liver disease. Here we report on our experience with 23 patients with severe liver failure who were treated with Prometheus in our medical intensive care unit. Fourteen patients had AoCLF, and nine patients experienced ALF. The median bilirubin level at the start of Prometheus therapy was 30.5 mg/dL and the median Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score was 26. During 40 individual treatment sessions lasting 5–6 h, Prometheus therapy reduced serum bilirubin levels from 23.7 mg/dL to 15.0 mg/dL (median values) (P < 0.001), and the overall survival was 26%. ALF patients had a better survival compared to AoCLF patients (44% vs. 22%; P = 0.022). Apart from one patient who developed hemodynamic instability during a treatment session, Prometheus therapy was well tolerated without relevant side‐effects. In conclusion, extracorporeal liver support therapy with Prometheus is a novel and safe treatment option in patients with severe liver failure. In this series, patients with ALF showed a significantly better outcome with Prometheus therapy compared to AoCLF patients.     

Prognostic Value of Elevated Serum Ceruloplasmin Levels in Patients With Heart Failure

BackgroundCeruloplasmin (Cp) is a copper-binding acute-phase protein that is increased in inflammatory states and deficient in Wilson's disease. Recent studies demonstrate that increased levels of Cp are associated with increased risk of developing heart failure. Our objective was to test the hypothesis that serum Cp provides incremental and independent prediction of survival in stable patients with heart failure.Methods and ResultsWe measured serum Cp levels in 890 patients with stable heart failure undergoing elective cardiac evaluation that included coronary angiography. We examined the role of Cp levels in predicting survival over 5 years of follow-up. Mean Cp level was 26.6 ± 6.9 mg/dL and demonstrated relatively weak correlation with B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP; r = 0.187; P < .001). Increased Cp levels were associated with increased 5-year all-cause mortality (quartile [Q] 4 vs Q1 hazard ratio [HR] 1.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4–2.8; P < .001). When controlled for coronary disease traditional risk factors, creatinine clearance, dialysis, body mass index, medications, history of myocardial infarction, BNP, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), heart rate, QRS duration, left bundle branch blockage, and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator placement, higher Cp remained an independent predictor of increased mortality (Q4 vs Q1 HR 1.7, 95% CI 1.1–2.6; P < .05). Model quality was improved with addition of Cp to the aforementioned covariables (net reclassification improvement of 9.3%; P < .001).ConclusionsCeruloplasmin is an independent predictor of all-cause mortality in patients with heart failure. Measurement of Cp may help to identify patients at heightened mortality risk.     

End-of-Life Care in Patients With Heart Failure

Stage D heart failure (HF) is associated with poor prognosis, yet little consensus exists on the care of patients with HF approaching the end of life. Treatment options for end-stage HF range from continuation of guideline-directed medical therapy to device interventions and cardiac transplantation. However, patients approaching the end of life may elect to forego therapies or procedures perceived as burdensome, or to deactivate devices that were implanted earlier in the disease course. Although discussing end-of-life issues such as advance directives, palliative care, or hospice can be difficult, such conversations are critical to understanding patient and family expectations and to developing mutually agreed-on goals of care. Because patients with HF are at risk for rapid clinical deterioration or sudden cardiac death, end-of-life issues should be discussed early in the course of management. As patients progress to advanced HF, the need for such discussions increases, especially among patients who have declined, failed, or been deemed to be ineligible for advanced HF therapies. Communication to define goals of care for the individual patient and then to design therapy concordant with these goals is fundamental to patient-centered care. The objectives of this white paper are to highlight key end-of-life considerations in patients with HF, to provide direction for clinicians on strategies for addressing end-of-life issues and providing optimal patient care, and to draw attention to the need for more research focusing on end-of-life care for the HF population.     

Management of Acute Right Ventricular Failure in the Intensive Care Unit

Acute failure of the right ventricle is a common challenge in the intensive care unit that is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Although often a complication of left ventricular failure, right ventricular failure is a distinct clinical entity, both in terms of its hemodynamic abnormalities and response to treatment. Effective management of right ventricular failure must consider the unique properties of the right ventricle and the pulmonary circulation, and their response to common pharmacologic and mechanical interventions. In this review, we present a contemporary approach to patients with acute failure of the right ventricle including strategies for mechanical ventilation, hemodynamic management, and mechanical circulatory support.     

Delirium Among Hospitalized Older Adults With Acute Heart Failure Exacerbation

BackgroundDelirium among older adults hospitalized with acute heart failure is associated with increased mortality. However, studies concomitantly assessing the association of delirium with both clinical and economic outcomes in this population, such as mortality, hospital cost, or length of stay, are lacking.Methods and ResultsWe conducted a retrospective observational study using National Inpatient Sample data from 2011 to 2014. Using multivariable logistic regression, we assessed the association of delirium with in-hospital mortality, then estimated the incremental hospital cost and excessive length of stay adjusting for demographic and clinical factors using multivariable generalized linear regression. The association of other medical complications on clinical and economic outcomes was also assessed. A total of 568,565 (weighted N = 2,826,131) hospitalizations of patients 65 years or older with acute heart failure from 2011 to 2014 were included in the final analysis. The reported prevalence of delirium was 4.53%. After multivariable adjustment, delirium was associated with a 2.35-fold increase in the odds of in-hospital mortality (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.23–2.47), which was lower than the odds ratio for sepsis/septicemia (5.36; 95% CI, 5.02–5.72) or respiratory failure (4.53; 95% CI, 4.38–4.69), but similar to that for acute kidney injury (2.39; 95% CI, 2.31–2.48) and higher than for non-ST elevation myocardial infarct (1.57; 95% CI, 1.46–1.68). Delirium increased the total hospital cost by $4,262 (95% CI, $4,002–4,521) and the length of stay by 1.73 days (95% CI, 1.68–1.78), which was slightly lower than, but similar to, acute kidney injury ($4,771; 95% CI, $4,644–4,897) and 1.82 days (95% CI, 1.79–1.84), and higher than non-ST elevation myocardial infarct ($1,907; 95% CI, $1,629–2,185) and 0.31 days (95% CI, 0.25–0.37).ConclusionsDelirium was associated with increased in-hospital mortality, total hospital cost, and length of stay, and the magnitude of the effect was similar to that for acute kidney injury. Enhanced efforts to prevent delirium are needed to decrease its adverse impact on clinical and economic outcomes for hospitalized older adults with acute heart failure.     

Characteristics and Outcomes of Heart Failure–Related Intensive Care Unit Admissions in Children With Cardiomyopathy

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to describe patient characteristics and outcomes of heart failure (HF)–related intensive care unit (ICU) hospitalizations in children with cardiomyopathy (CM).Methods and ResultsA query of the Pediatric Health Information System database, a large administrative and billing database of 43 tertiary children’s hospitals, was performed. A total of 17,309 HF-related ICU hospitalizations from 2005 to 2010 of 14,985 children ≤18 years old were analyzed. Of those, 2,058 (12%) hospitalizations for CM-HF in 1,599 (11%) children were identified. Classification into CM subtypes was not possible owing to database limitations. The number of yearly CM-HF hospitalizations significantly increased during the study period (P = .036). Overall mortality was 11%, and cardiac transplantation occurred in 20% of hospitalizations. Mechanical circulatory support (MCS) was used in 261 (13%) of hospitalizations. Renal failure, MCS, respiratory failure, sepsis, and vasoactive medications were associated with mortality on multivariable analysis. Significant comorbidities associated with these hospitalizations included arrhythmias in 42%, renal failure in 13%, cerebrovascular disease in 6%, and hepatic impairment in 5%.ConclusionsHF-related ICU hospitalizations in children with cardiomyopathy are increasing. These children are at high risk for poor outcomes with an in-hospital mortality of 11%.     

心率变异预测急性心肌梗死预后的价值

为探讨急性心肌梗死（ＡＭＩ）预后与心率变异（ＨＲＶ）的关系及ＨＲＶ与左室射血分数（ＬＶＥＦ）、心室晚电位（ＶＬＰ）联合应用对心律失常事件的预测价值，对８４例ＡＭＩ后两周的患者进行ＨＲＶ时域及频域分析和ＶＬＰ检测，并进行长期随访。平均随访１６．７５±７．７４（４～２９）个月（１２例失访）。结果表明：①发生严重心律失常事件的ＡＭＩ患者（１５例）的ＨＲＶ较无严重心律失常事件者（５７例）明显下降〔ＳＤ：３．８７９±０．３５５ｌｎ（ｍｓ）ｖｓ４．０７７±０．２８１ｌｎ（ｍｓ），Ｓｔ．Ｇｅｏｒｇｅｓ指数：３．６７７±０．５６９ｖｓ３．９２９±０．３５８，ＬＦ：４．３９９±１．１７９ｌｎ（ｍｓ２／Ｈｚ）ｖｓ５．０４１±０．９１２ｌｎ（ｍｓ２／Ｈｚ），Ｐ均＜０．０５〕。②ＨＲＶ对严重心律失常事件预测的敏感性为４６．７％，高于ＬＶＥＦ（３３．３％）及ＶＬＰ（２６．７％）；阳性预测值为３０．４％，与ＬＶＥＦ（３１．２％）及ＶＬＰ（３０．８％）相近。③ＨＲＶ分别与ＬＶＥＦ、ＶＬＰ合用，可明显提高阳性预测值（依次为６０％和５０％）。提示ＡＭＩ后心律失常事件的发生及心脏性猝死与ＨＲＶ有密切关系。