Baseline Patient-Reported Health Status Predicts Hospitalization Duration and Cost in Chronic Heart Failure

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Health Economics
• Patient-Reported Outcomes Research

Background:

• Chronic heart failure (CHF) poses a significant burden on healthcare systems, necessitating efficient resource allocation.
• Understanding predictors of hospitalization costs and duration is crucial for effective patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the predictive value of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) for hospitalization costs and duration in CHF patients.
• To determine if the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire Overall Summary Score (KCCQ-OSS) is an independent predictor of these outcomes.

Main Methods:

• An observational, cross-sectional study involving 171 adult CHF patients admitted to a university hospital.
• Data collection included the validated Romanian KCCQ, clinical interviews, physical examinations, and echocardiography.
• Generalized linear models were used to analyze the association between KCCQ-OSS and hospitalization costs/duration, adjusting for confounders.

Main Results:

• A 10-point decrease in KCCQ-OSS was associated with a 9.5% increase in hospitalization duration.
• A 10-point increase in KCCQ-OSS was associated with a 5.1% increase in hospitalization cost, potentially due to elective procedures in healthier patients.
• The KCCQ-OSS demonstrated independent predictive power for both cost and duration.

Conclusions:

• The KCCQ-OSS is a valuable, independent predictor of hospitalization costs and duration in CHF patients.
• Integrating KCCQ assessments into routine care can help identify high-risk, high-cost patients for improved resource allocation and value-based management.
• Further research in larger, multi-center settings is warranted to validate these findings.