Impact Of Potassium Abnormalities On In-hospital Chf Outcomes: A Nationwide Perspective

• Published in: Journal of cardiac failure Vol. 29; no. 4; p. 558
• Main Authors: Devarakonda, Pradeep Kumar, Karki, Monika, Ramireddy, Keerthi Reddy, Patibandla, Saikrishna
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.04.2023
• ISSN: 1071-9164; 1532-8414
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cardfail.2022.10.031

Potassium abnormality is one of the common comorbidities in congestive heart failure (CHF) patients. However, its impact on in-hospital outcomes among CHF patients remains unknown This is a Retrospective cohort studies using 2017 - 2018 National inpatient sample (NIS) data were used for analysis. CHF patients were identified using International Classification of Diseases 10 (ICD-10-CM) codes of I50 subsets. Hypokalemia and hyperkalemia are identified as secondary diagnoses among these patient populations using ICD 10 codes E875 and E876. In-hospital mortality, length of stay (LOS), and total charge during hospitalization were analyzed were compared. The outcomes were measured using linear and logistic regression models to adjust for confounders. A total of 350,144 patients with heart failure as a primary diagnosis (42% systolic and 32% diastolic HF) were included in the study. Among them, 6.1% (21369) patients had a secondary diagnosis of hypokalemia and 13.9% (46469) had hyperkalemia. In-hospital mortality rates were significantly higher among patients with hyperkalemia (8.3%) compared with hypokalemia (2.6%), adjusted odds ratio (OR): 3.17, p<0.0001. Mean LOS was longer among patients with hyperkalemia compared with hypokalemia (7.5 days vs 6.1 days), adjusted OR 0.92, 95% p<0.0001, Mean total in-hospital charges were higher among hyperkalemia compared with hypokalemia (81,318 $ vs 57,922 $) Potassium abnormalities are common among patients with CHF, with a relatively higher prevalence of hyperkalemia. In-hospital outcomes were worse among patients with hyperkalemia compared with hypokalemia.