ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To address the clinical relevance of serum albumin and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) concentration in the prediction of in-hospital death in elderly patients with acute severe heart failure. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Seventy-four consecutive patients >70 years of age admitted for acute heart failure in NYHA class IV were prospectively included. BNP concentration was measured on admission and serum albumin concentration after clinical stabilization. RESULTS: Mean age was 86.6+/-5.7 years. Sixty-five percent of patients had a normal left ventricular ejection fraction. Eighteen patients died during the in-hospital stay. Those patients who died were older, had higher blood urea nitrogen and BNP concentration, had lower systolic blood pressure and serum albumin concentration than patients who survived. Heart rate, rhythm, left ventricular ejection fraction, serum creatinine and hemoglobin did not differ according to outcome. By multivariate analysis, albumin (p=0.0017), BNP (p=0.016) and age (p=0.03) were independent predictors of in-hospital death. Serum troponin I measured on admission in 71 patients was predictive of in-hospital death (p=0.01), as well as serum total cholesterol measured after stabilization in 66 patients (p=0.004). However, these two variables no longer predicted outcome in multivariate models, unlike serum albumin and BNP. CONCLUSION: Serum albumin and BNP offer independent, additional information for the prediction of in-hospital death in elderly patient with acute severe heart failure regardless of left ventricular ejection fraction.
