Patterns of diuretic titration during inpatient management of acute decompensated heart failure

Hospitalization rates for acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) have increased, resulting in 6.5 million hospital days annually. Despite this, optimal diuretic strategies for managing ADHF remain unclear, highlighting the need to analyze diuretic practice patterns in ADHF treatment.

We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of adults hospitalized for ADHF, regardless of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) between January 1, 2014 and December 21, 2021 at a large, quaternary healthcare system to determine diuretic practice patterns. We performed multivariable regression analyses to assess time to initial, second, and maximum diuretic therapy with hospital length of stay (LOS) and 30-day readmission.

Among 4,298 adults admitted for ADHF (mean age 63 years, 62 % male, 52 % LVEF ≤40 %) median time to max diuretic therapy was 1.8 (0.7, 3.8) days. Median time to initial IV loop diuretic dose was 3.6 (2.1, 6.5) hours, while time to second dose of IV loop diuretic dose was 10.2 (6.3, 15.1) hours. Time to initial IV loop diuretic, time to second IV loop diuretic dose, and time to maximum diuretic therapy were all positively associated with increased LOS but were not associated with 30-day readmission. There was wide variation in loop diuretic escalation strategies and use of sequential nephron blockade.

There was wide variation in diuretic strategies at a single academic medical center. Increased time to initial IV loop diuretic, time between diuretic doses, and longer time to max diuretic therapy were associated with increased LOS but were not associated with 30-day readmission suggesting different diuretic strategies may affect patient outcomes and warrant dedicated investigation in the future.