In-Hospital Adverse Events in Heart Failure Patients: Incidence and Association with 90-Day Mortality

In-hospital adverse events (IHAEs) are key patient safety indicators but are not comprehensively assessed among patients hospitalized for heart failure (HF). The authors aimed to determine the association of IHAEs with downstream outcomes.

This retrospective multicenter cohort study analyzed data from patients hospitalized for HF in 17 acute care hospitals (2010-2023). The research team abstracted 36 IHAEs and grouped them into eight composite categories. The primary outcome was 90-day all-cause mortality, and secondary outcomes included length of stay (LOS), in-hospital mortality, and 90-day postdischarge all-cause readmission.

Of the 11,169 hospitalized HF patients (median age 77.7 years; 47.0% women; 7.1% non-white; 39.8% from rural counties; 78,869 hospital bed-days), IHAEs occurred at varying frequency across the composite IHAE categories: general 4.6%, cardiovascular 6.6%, pulmonary 11.7%, endocrine and metabolism 9.2%, renal and electrolyte 9.1%, gastrointestinal 4.0%, neurological 2.7%, and hospital-acquired infection (HAI) 3.2%. Except for the renal and electrolyte (hazard ratio [HR] 0.92, p = 0.2956), IHAE in any other category was consistently associated with higher 90-day mortality (HRs 1.50-2.42, p < 0.0001 for all). Associations with secondary outcomes varied by IHAE categories: LOS increased in the general (incident rate ratio [IRR] 1.09), pulmonary (IRR 1.65), neurological (IRR 1.37), and HAI (IRR 1.09) categories (p < 0.0001). In-hospital mortality was higher in all categories except gastrointestinal. The 90-day readmission rate was elevated in the gastrointestinal (HR 1.85), neurological (HR 1.89), and HAI (HR 1.66) categories (p < 0.0001). Guideline-focused medical treatment (GFMT) was associated with reduced mortality in patients with and without IHAEs.

HF cohorts with specific composite IHAEs experience higher in-hospital and 90-day all-cause mortality and increased health care resource utilization. This elevated mortality risk may be mitigated by GFMT, with potential tailoring to each specific IHAE category.