Introduction:
Hospitalizations associated with advanced heart failure (HF) requiring mechanical circulatory support (MCS) are usually associated with a high morbidity, mortality and a protracted hospital course. Prior studies have shown that the early inclusion of palliative care specialist is associated with better end-of-life experiences.
Methods:
The National Inpatient Sample Database was queried from 2012 to 2017 for relevant International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-9 and ICD-10 procedural and diagnostic codes to identify patients above 18 years with advanced HF admitted with cardiogenic shock requiring MCS. Baseline characteristics and in-hospital outcomes were compared among patients evaluated by palliative care and those who were not. A p-value of <0.001 was considered statistically significant.
Results:
There were 748,360 patients hospitalized for advanced HF complicated by cardiogenic shock requiring MCS, of these a palliative care consult was placed in 118,015 (15.8%) patients. Patients evaluated by palliative care were older (70.6±14.9 vs. 64.9±16.3 years old, p<0.001) and had a higher prevalence of atrial fibrillation (39.3 vs. 35.1%,p<0.001) and chronic kidney disease (40.4 vs. 33.3, p<0.001), however had lower hypertension (57.4 vs. 59.7%, p<0.001), diabetes (35.4 vs. 36.5%, p<0.001), coronary artery disease (51.2 vs. 58.4%, p<0.001) and acute coronary syndromes (39.2 vs. 45.0%, p<0.001). Consulting palliative care was associated with a shorter length of stay (8.8±12.0 vs. 11.9±15.5 days, p<0.001), lower total hospital cost ($161,972±265,156 vs. $219,114±318,387, p<0.001) and higher Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders (30.8 vs. 5.8%, p<0.001). Mortality rates were higher in the palliative care cohort (73.4 vs. 29.4%, p<0.001).
Conclusions:
Despite the high morbidity and mortality associated with advanced HF patients with cardiogenic shock requiring MCS, the overall prevalence of palliative care consultation is exceedingly low. DNR orders were more prevalent in patients seen by the palliative care service. This study highlights the underutilization of palliative care services in this patient population, precluding any perceived benefit in end of life experiences.
Embedding Palliative Care into Advanced Heart Failure Teams: A Model for Success
