MONDAY, Jan. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Patients hospitalized for heart failure who have resulting worsened renal function (WRF) face increased long-term mortality and rehospitalization risks, especially if renal function does not recover by initial discharge, according to a study published in the January issue of The American Journal of Cardiology.
David E. Lanfear, M.D., from the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, and colleagues studied 2,465 patients with a hospital discharge diagnosis of heart failure whose renal function was estimated from creatinine levels during hospitalization. WRF was defined as a creatinine level increase of at least 0.3 mg/dL on any hospital day as compared to baseline. Persistent WRF was defined as having WRF at the time of hospital discharge.
The researchers found that 36 percent of the patients developed WRF. In adjusted models, the researchers found that WRF was related to higher rates of rehospitalization or post-discharge death (hazard ratio [HR], 1.12). Of the patients who developed WRF, 60 percent had persistent WRF at hospital discharge and 40 percent recovered renal function by the time of discharge. Persistent WRF had a significant association with an increased post-discharge event rate (HR, 1.14), but transient WRF showed just a nonsignificant trend toward increased risk.
"This study demonstrates that WRF is an independent predictor of worse long-term outcomes after hospital discharge for heart failure," the authors write.
The research was funded by a grant from Merck.
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