The Change in Body Weight During Hospitalization Predicts Mortality in Patients With Acute Decompensated Heart Failure

Abstract

Background: In our experience, the change in body weight (BW) during hospitalization varies greatly in patients with acute decompensated heart failure (HF). Since the clinical significance of a change in BW is not clear, we investigated whether a change in BW could predict mortality.

Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 130 patients (72 males; aged 68 10 years) who were hospitalized due to acute decompensated HF and followed for 2 years after discharge. The change in the BW index during hospitalization (delta BWI) was calculated as (BW at hospital admission minus BW at hospital discharge)/body surface area at hospital discharge.

Results: The patients were divided into quartiles according to delta BWI, and the 2-year mortality rates in the quartiles with the lowest, second, third and highest delta BWI were 18.8%, 12.1%, 3.1% and 9.1%, respectively. In a multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis after adjusting for variables with a P value less than 0.05, deltaBWI was independently associated with 2-year mortality (P = 0.0002), and the quartile with the lowest deltaBWI had a higher relative risk (RR) for 2-year mortality than the quartile with the highest deltaBWI (RR: 7.46, 95% confidence interval: 1.03 - 53.99, P = 0.04).

Conclusion: In conclusion, delta BWI was significantly associated with 2-year mortality after discharge, which indicates that delta BWI might be a simple predictor of prognosis in acute decompensated HF.

J Clin Med Res. 2017;9(3):200-206
doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jocmr2890w