Ghrair F, et al. – This study investigated the link between serum vitamin D level and 30–day readmission rate and length of stay (LOS), respectively, in patients with acute heart failure (AHF) syndrome due to heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HErEF). Findings reported that in this patient population, vitamin D deficiency appeared to be a significant independent predictor for an early age of hospitalization, 30–day readmission rate and LOS.

Methods

• Researchers performed a retrospective, single-center study including 2,087 patients admitted between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2014 for an AHF syndrome.
• They excluded patients without a vitamin D level or measured as 25-dihydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D.
• 25(OH)D deficiency was defined by having serum concentration levels of less than 20 ng/mL.
• Normal levels were defined as ≥30 ng/mL.
• They evaluated levels of 25(OH)D in relation to predicting the 30-day readmission rate, length of stay (LOS) and mortality rate.

Results

• Researchers observed that among the 2,087 patients admitted to their hospital for an AHF syndrome, 180 patients had a history of HFrEF and documented levels of vitamin D, of which 42 patients (23.3%) had normal 25(OH)D levels, 83 patients (46.1%) had 25(OH)D deficiency and 55 patients (30.6%) had 25(OH)D insufficiency.
• Findings demonstrated that the average age of the patients admitted for an AHF syndrome was 62.7 years in HFrEF-25(OH)D deficiency group versus 69.9 years in HFrEF-normal 25(OH)D level (P = .007).
• Data revealed that after standardizing medical therapy in each group, the 30-day readmission rate among HFrEF-25(OH)D deficiency was 40% versus 16.6% in HFrEF-normal 25(OH)D level (Odds ratio (OR) 3.4, 95% CI: 1.3–9.3, P = .01).
• Researchers also noted that average LOS among HFrEF-25(OH)D deficiency group was 8.2 days versus 4.1 days in HFrEF-normal 25(OH)D level (P = .04).
• They observed that mortality rate did not differ between the two groups.
• Subgroup analysis among HFrEF-25(OH)D deficiency, average age during the AHF syndrome admission was 60.1 years among male patients versus 67 years in female patients (P = .04).
• Furthermore, results highlighted that female patients had a higher 30-day readmission rate compared to male patients (26.7% vs 11.8%) with a trend toward statistical significance (P = .07).
• According to outcomes, LOS did not differ between the male and female subgroups (P = .8).