Prognostic Value of Admission-to-Discharge Change in Integral Congestion Assessment for Predicting Adverse Outcomes in Patients with Decompensated Heart Failure

This study was performed to evaluate the prognostic value of relative changes from admission to discharge (Δ%) of integrated congestion assessment to predict adverse outcomes in patients with irreversible heart failure (HF) during a one-year follow-up. The study included 122 patients (60% males, median age of 69 years) with decompensated HF. Most of the patients (92%) had a history of arterial hypertension, 53.3% had coronary heart disease, and 40.2% had type 2 diabetes mellitus. All patients underwent assessments, including NT-proBNP, lung ultrasound (LUS) B-line score, liver stiffness by transient elastography, and resistance and reactance by bioimpedance vector analysis (BIVA). The assessments were performed at admission and discharge, and a relative change from admission (delta percentage, Δ%) was calculated. Long-term clinical outcomes were assessed by a structured interview conducted 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after discharge. The cut-offs for the occurrence of the endpoint events were Δ% NT-proBNP of ≥ -25, Δ% liver stiffness of ≥ -44, Δ% B-line score on lung ultrasound of ≥ -73, Δ% BIVA resistance of ≤ 18, and Δ% BIVA reactance of ≤ 40. It was revealed that 55% of endpoint events, including 22 (18%) deaths and 33 (27%) readmissions, occurred within a median of 74 days (interquartile range: 33-147). Patients with an endpoint event had significantly worse values of all studied parameters in contrast to patients without it. There was a significant direct association between Δ% NT-proBNP and Δ% B-lines (r=0.18; P=0.04), and a highly reliable inverse association was observed between Δ% liver stiffness and Δ% BIVA reactance (r=-0.4; P<0.001). No significant associations were found between the other parameters. Univariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated the independent prognostic value of all congestion markers under study (NT-proBNP, LUS B-lines, liver stiffness, and BIVA reactance) for predicting the combined endpoint. Multivariate Cox regression analysis confirmed the independent prognostic value in predicting the risk of endpoint event for the following parameters: NT-proBNP (hazard rate [HR] 2.5, P=0.001), liver stiffness (HR 2.3, P=0.012), LUS B-line score (HR 2.2, P=0.008). However, it did not find any significant prognostic value for BIVA resistance and reactance. The relative admission-to-discharge change in the integral assessment of congestion had a prognostic value for predicting the risk of adverse outcomes (all-cause mortality and readmission rate) in patients with decompensated HF during a one-year follow-up.