Nonspecific Chest Pain and 30-Day Unplanned Readmissions in the United States (From the Nationwide Readmission Database)

Readmission following both cardiac and non-cardiac acute dyspnoea is associated with a striking risk of death

Aims

Readmission and mortality are the most common and often combined endpoints in acute heart failure (AHF) trials, but an association between these two outcomes is poorly investigated. The aim of this study was to determine whether unplanned readmission is associated with a greater subsequent risk of death in patients with acute dyspnoea due to cardiac and non‐cardiac causes.

Methods and results

Derivation cohort (1371 patients from the LEDA study) and validation cohort (1986 patients from the BASEL V study) included acute dyspnoea patients admitted to the emergency department. Cox regression analysis was used to determine the association of 6 month readmission and the risk of 1 year all‐cause mortality in AHF and non‐AHF patients and those readmitted due to cardiovascular and non‐cardiovascular causes. In the derivation cohort, 666 (49%) of patients were readmitted at 6 months and 282 (21%) died within 1 year. Six month readmission was associated with an increased 1 year mortality risk in both the derivation cohort [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 3.0 (95% confidence interval, CI 2.2–4.0), P < 0.001] and the validation cohort (aHR 1.8, 95% CI 1.4–2.2, P < 0.001). The significant association was similarly observed in AHF (aHR 3.2, 95% CI 2.1–4.9, P < 0.001) and other causes of acute dyspnoea (aHR 2.9, 95% CI 1.9–4.5, P < 0.001), and it did not depend on the aetiology [aHR 2.2, 95% CI 1.6–3.1 for cardiovascular readmissions; aHR 4.1, 95% CI 2.9–5.7 for non‐cardiovascular readmissions (P < 0.001 for both)] or timing of readmission.

Conclusion​s

Our study demonstrated a long‐lasting detrimental association between readmission and death in AHF and non‐AHF patients with acute dyspnoea. These patients should be considered ‘vulnerable patients’ that require personalized follow‐up for an extended period.

Percutaneous coronary intervention and 30-day unplanned readmission with chest pain in the United States (Nationwide Readmissions Database)

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) improves anginal chest pain in most, but not all, treated patients. PCI is associated with unplanned readmission for angina and non-specific chest pain within 30-days of index PCI. Patients with an index hospitalization for PCI between January-November in each of the years 2010-2014 were included from the United States Nationwide Readmissions Database. Of 2 723 455 included patients, the 30-day unplanned readmission rate was 7.2% (n = 196 581, 42.3% female). This included 9.8% (n = 19 183) with angina and 11.1% (n = 21 714) with non-specific chest pain. The unplanned readmission group were younger (62.2 vs 65.1 years; P < 0.001), more likely to be females (41.0% vs 34.2%; P < 0.001), from the lowest quartile of household income (32.9% vs 31.2%; P < 0.001), have higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors or have index PCI performed for non-acute coronary syndromes (ACS) (OR:3.46, 95%CI 3.39-3.54). Factors associated with angina readmissions included female sex (OR:1.28, 95%CI 1.25-1.32), history of ischemic heart disease (IHD) (OR:3.28, 95%CI 2.95-3.66), coronary artery bypass grafts (OR:1.79, 95%CI 1.72-2.86), anaemia (OR:1.16, 95%CI 1.11-1.21), hypertension (OR:1.13, 95%CI 1.09, 1.17), and dyslipidemia (OR:1.10, 95%CI 1.06-1.14). Non-specific chest pain compared with angina readmissions were younger (mean difference 1.25 years, 95% CI 0.99, 1.50), more likely to be females (RR:1.13, 95%CI 1.10, 1.15) and have undergone PCI for non-ACS (RR:2.17, 95%CI 2.13, 2.21). Indications for PCI other than ACS have a greater likelihood of readmission with angina or non-specific chest pain at 30-days. Readmissions are more common in patients with modifiable risk factors, previous history of IHD and anaemia.