Right ventricular dysfunction as predictor of longer hospital stay in patients with acute decompensated heart failure: a prospective study in Indonesian population

BACKGROUND Hospital length of stay (LOS) is a key determinant of heart failure hospitalization costs. Longer LOS is associated with lower quality of care measures and higher rates of readmission and mortality. Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction predicted poor outcomes in patients with stable chronic heart failure (CHF), however, its prognostic value in the acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) patients has not been sufficiently clarified. This study investigated the prognostic value of RV dysfunction in predicting longer LOS in ADHF patients. METHODS A prospective cohort study was conducted in National Cardiovascular Center Harapan Kita to all patients admitted with ADHF. Clinical data and baseline RV function assessed by tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) were collected. Clinical comorbidities including malnutrition, pneumonia and worsening renal function (WRF) were monitored during hospitalization. The primary outcome was hospital LOS. Cox regression analysis was used to identify independent predictors for longer LOS. RESULTS Two hundred and fifty-nine ADHF patients were included in this cohort study. On time-to-event analysis, diastolic blood pressure (HR = 1.011; 95 % CI = 1.004-1.018; p = 0.002), hemoglobin levels (HR = 1.102; 95 % CI = 1.045-1.162; p < 0.001), RV function (HR = 0.659; 95 % CI = 0.506-0.857; p = 0.002), WRF (HR = 2.015; 95 % CI = 1.520-2.670; p < 0.001) and malnutrition (HR = 5.965; 95 % CI = 4.402-8.082; p < 0.001) were associated with longer LOS. In a multivariate Cox regression model, RV function (HR = 0.466; 95 % CI = 0.238-0.915; p = 0.026), WRF (HR = 2.985; 95 % CI = 2.032-4.386; p < 0.001) and malnutrition (HR = 7.479; 95 % CI = 5.071-11.030; p < 0.001) were the independent predictors of longer hospital LOS. Based on the median TAPSE values, patients with TAPSE ≤ 16 mm had significantly longer LOS (HR = 2.227; 95 % CI = 1.103-4.494; p = 0.026) compared to those with TAPSE > 16 mm. CONCLUSIONS Right ventricular dysfunction, WRF and malnutrition are important predictors of longer LOS. This is the first study to describe that in ADHF patients, lower the TAPSE resulted in longer the LOS.