KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The study aimed to investigate the predictors and risk factors for 30-day hospital readmission in female BC survivors presenting with AHF.
- Researchers noticed that comorbidities drive high readmission rates in these patients, emphasizing the need for better outpatient follow-up.
Breast cancer (BC) and cardiovascular diseases are among the leading causes of mortality in the United States (US), with their connection partly attributed to the cardiotoxicity of cancer treatments.
Soumya Kambalapalli and the team aimed to investigate the predictors and risk factors for 30-day hospital readmission in female BC survivors presenting with acute heart failure (AHF).
They performed an inclusive analysis of AHF hospitalizations in female patients with BC from 2019 using the National Readmission Database (NRD), the largest publicly available all-payer inpatient readmission database in the US. The study sample included adult female patients aged 18 years and older. The primary outcome of interest was the rate of 30-day readmission.
About 8,332 index admissions for AHF in females with BC were recorded in 2019, with 7,776 patients discharged alive. The mean age of these patients was 74.4 years (95% CI: 74, 74.7). Among those discharged alive, the 30-day readmission rate was 21.8% (n = 1,699). Hypertensive heart disease with chronic kidney disease was the leading cause of readmission, followed by sepsis, acute kidney injury, respiratory failure, pneumonia, and atrial fibrillation.
Demographic factors and a higher burden of comorbidities were significant predictors of readmission. The total in-hospital mortality rate for index admissions was 6.67% (n = 556), while the mortality rate for readmitted patients was 8.77% (n = 149). The mean length of stay for index admissions was 7.5 days (95% CI: 7.25, 7.75).
The study concluded that readmission of female BC survivors presenting with AHF is common and primarily attributed to a high burden of comorbidities, including hypertension and chronic kidney disease. Emphasizing close outpatient follow-up could be beneficial in reducing readmissions.
The study received no funds.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39042606/
Kambalapalli S, Baral N, Paul TK, et al. (2024). “Thirty-day hospital readmission in females with acute heart failure and breast cancer: A retrospective cohort study from national readmission database.” PLoS One. 2024 Jul 23;19(7):e0301596. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301596. PMID: 39042606; PMCID: PMC11265691.
