Innovative clinical pathway shortened the length of hospital stay and prevented readmission in patients with acute decompensated heart failure.

BACKGROUND: With the rapidly aging population in Japan, the number of patients hospitalized for acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) is increasing. Mitoyo General Hospital created an innovative clinical pathway (CP) for promoting early discharge in patients with ADHF. Major points of the CP were as follows: using tolvaptan as a standard therapy, completing the acute therapies within three days, and starting cardiac rehabilitation from the second day after admission. METHODS: We collected data for patients with ADHF who were admitted to our hospital before introduction of the CP (non-CP group) (April 2014-July 2015) and after introduction of the CP (CP group) (August 2015-July 2019). We investigated the impact of the CP on the length of hospital stay (LOHS) and readmission after discharge. RESULTS: After screening, 593 patients were enrolled in this study. After performing propensity score matching, 129 patients in the non-CP group and 129 patients in the CP group were analyzed. LOHS of patients in the CP group was significantly shorter than that of patients in the non-CP group [20 (14-28) days vs 12 (8-21) days] (p < 0.001) without an increase in mortality during hospitalization or an increase in the rate of readmission due to ADHF within 30 days. Use of the CP was an independent negative factor contributing to LOHS for patients with ADHF, even after adjustment of other factors including the use of tolvaptan (p < 0.001). The CP significantly decreased the proportion of patients readmitted to hospitals due to ADHF within 6 months [n = 32 (27%) vs n = 18 (15%), p = 0.026] and 1 year [n = 40 (34%) vs n = 23 (19%), p = 0.009] after discharge compared to the proportion in the non-CP group. CONCLUSIONS: The CP significantly reduced the LOHS of patients without increasing the in-hospital mortality and it also reduced the risk of readmission in the mid-term and long-term.

High Plasma Docosahexaenoic Acid Associated to Better Prognoses of Patients with Acute Decompensated Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction.

The clinical relevance of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in heart failure remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between PUFA levels and the prognosis of patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). This retrospective study included 140 hospitalized patients with acute decompensated HFpEF (median age 84.0 years, 42.9% men). The patients' nutritional status was assessed, using the geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI), and their plasma levels of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), arachidonic acid (AA), and dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA) were measured before discharge. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. During a median follow-up of 23.3 months, the primary outcome occurred in 37 patients (26.4%). A Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that lower DHA and DGLA levels, but not EPA or AA levels, were significantly associated with an increase in all-cause death (log-rank; p < 0.001 and p = 0.040, respectively). A multivariate Cox regression analysis also revealed that DHA levels were significantly associated with the incidence of all-cause death (HR: 0.16, 95% CI: 0.06-0.44, p = 0.001), independent of the GNRI. Our results suggest that low plasma DHA levels may be a useful predictor of all-cause mortality and potential therapeutic target in patients with acute decompensated HFpEF.