ABSTRACT
Introduction: Select centers have published local experiences with outpatient (OP) intravenous (IV) diuretic clinics to treat worsening heart failure (HF) and prevent hospitalization. Little is known regarding widespread use of this care strategy in contemporary US practice, including the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method(s): Inpatient (IP) and OP claims from Optum (April 2018-March 2021) were utilized to identify instances where patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) received >=1 administration of IV diuretic. Episodes of care were categorized into hierarchical mutually exclusive groups defined by intensity of care setting, including IP hospitalization, critical care (without IP hospitalization), emergency department (without IP hospitalization), observation unit, nursing facility, and outpatient clinic. Analyses were stratified across pre-pandemic (4/2018-3/2019, 4/2019-3/2020) and COVID-19 pandemic periods (4/2020-3/2021). Result(s): Among 302,397 patients with HFrEF, 56,213 (19%) patients received IV diuretic therapy during the study period, accounting for 94,865 total IV diuretic episodes. Of patients receiving IV diuretics, 44% were female and 20% were Black. Among 85,827 (90%) IV diuretic episodes with available data on location of care, 14% were outpatient clinic visits, 60% were IP hospitalizations, and 21% were ED visits. Critical care, observation unit, and nursing facility locations each constituted ~1-2% of IV diuretic episodes. The proportion of outpatient IV diuretic visits and the overall distribution of IV diuretic episodes was similar over time, spanning the pre-pandemic and COVID-19 pandemic periods (Figure). Conclusion(s): In this cohort of US patients with HFrEF, approximately 1 in 7 care episodes involving IV diuretic therapy occurred in outpatient clinic. The relative proportion of outpatient IV diuretic visits did not meaningfully change during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Figure Presented).