Cardiovascular disease and inpatient complications in Raynaud's syndrome: Propensity score analysis

Raynaud's Syndrome (RS) is a vasospastic disorder characterized by intermittent episodes of arterial vasospasm of the extremities. The relationship between RS and cardiovascular outcomes is not well studied, particularly among hospitalized patients. This study aims to examine the relationship between RS and clinical outcomes among hospitalized patients.

The National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database was used to identify patients with RS using the ICD-10 code (RS: I73.0). Propensity score matching was performed to balance baseline demographic and clinical characteristics between patients with and without RS. CVD, rheumatological diseases, and inpatient outcomes were compared between the two groups before and after matching.

RS patients had significantly higher rates of ischemic heart disease (22.9 % vs. 19.5 %; p < 0.01), heart failure (19.2 % vs. 14.5 %; p < 0.01), and pulmonary arterial hypertension (12.4 % vs. 4.0 %; p < 0.01). Rheumatological co-morbidities, including systemic sclerosis (14.6 % vs. 0.2 %; p < 0.01) and systemic lupus erythematosus (14.2 % vs. 0.8 %; p < 0.01), were more prevalent in RS patients. Inpatient complications, particularly acute decompensated heart failure (5.9 % vs. 4.5 %; p < 0.01), were more common in RS patients.

Patients with RS had a higher prevalence of cardiovascular and rheumatological diseases and were associated with inpatient complications. These findings emphasize the importance of comprehensive cardiovascular and rheumatological disease risk assessment and inpatient monitoring in RS patients to optimize outcomes.