Correlation of ECHO findings with duration of hospital stay in heart failure patients

Abstract

Background: The study aimed to assess the correlation, if any, between echocardiographic findings of heart failure patients and their duration of hospital stay Methods: A retrospective, analytical study was conducted at a tertiary care centre in Chennai to assess the correlation between the duration of hospital stay and the severity of heart failure, determined by echocardiographic findings. The study population of 50 heart failure cases were categorised into heart failure with preserved EF, heart failure with mid-range EF, heart failure with reduced EF as per the 2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA guideline for the management of heart failure. Each case was assessed based on age, sex, comorbidities, symptomology at the time of admission based on NYHA classification. Results: Of the 50 heart failure cases, 33 (66%) patients had HFrEF, 12 (24%) had HFmrEF and 5 (10%) had HFpEF. As per NYHA functional classification of effort-related dyspnoea, 12% belonged to class 1, 34% to class 2, another 34% to class 3 and 20% to class 4 heart failure. The mean duration of hospital stay was 7.2 days, with the longest duration of stay being 22 days and the shortest, only 2 days. Conclusions: A fall in ejection fraction in a case of heart failure tends to lead to a longer duration of hospital stay. It was found that older patients and those with more comorbidities were also hospitalized for a greater period of time.