Multi-organ dysfunction/injury on admission identifies acute heart failure patients at high risk of poor outcome

Clinical consequences of an interplay between dysfunction/injury of different end-organs in acute heart failure (AHF) remain unknown.

In 284 consecutive AHF patients, end-organ dysfunction/injury was defined as cardiac [troponin I level above the upper reference limit (URL, > 0.056 ng/mL)], kidney (estimated glomerular filtration rate < 60 mL/min/1.73 m² ), and liver [at least one of the following: aspartate transaminase (AST)/alanine transaminase (ALT) > 3 times the URL (> 114 IU/L and > 105 IU/L for AST and ALT, respectively), bilirubin above the URL (> 1.3 mg/mL), albumin below the lower reference limit (< 3.5 mg/dL)]. The primary endpoints were early (within first 48 h) in-hospital worsening of heart failure and 1-year all-cause mortality. On admission, cardiac, kidney, liver dysfunction/injury were present in 38%, 50%, and 54% of patients, respectively. Patients were classified as having 0, 1, 2, or 3 organ injury/dysfunction (17%, 36%, 35%, and 12% of patients, respectively). Baseline clinical characteristics and co-morbidity profile were similar across groups. Patients with three organ dysfunction/injury had the worst 1-year survival rate [46%; hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) vs. patients without organ dysfunction: 6.75 (2.52-18.13), those with two (67%; HR 3.54, 95% CI 1.38-9.08), one (84%; HR 1.58, 95% CI 0.58-4.30), or no organ dysfunction/injury (90%); P < 0.01]. Worsening of heart failure was more frequent in patients with three and two vs. those with one or no organ dysfunction/injury (37% vs. 38% vs. 23% vs. 21%, P < 0.05).

In patients with AHF, dysfunction/injury of > 1 end-organ dysfunction/injury identifies patients at the highest risk of poor outcomes.