Abstract Body (Do not enter title and authors here): Background: Heart failure (HF) affects 6.7 million Americans and causes 500,000 deaths annually. Despite advancements in treatment, the 1-year mortality in advanced HF is 25-50%. Implantable left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) are critical for bridge-to-transplant or destination therapy, with 1-year and 2-year survival rates of 80% and 70%, respectively. At least 67% of LVAD patients have palliative care (PC) needs. However, PC involvement rates have been variable. The aim of this study is to measure the utilization of PC focusing on demographic disparities.
Methods: Data was obtained from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) 2021 database to identify patients with a principal diagnosis of HF (ICD I50.xx), secondary diagnoses of LVAD placement (Z45.2, Z95.811) and utilization of PC during encounter (Z51.5). Analysis was performed using SPSS statistical software.
Results: Out of 5,688,355 adult hospitalizations in 2021, 1,048,573 patients were hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of HF. About 7.46% of HF patients received PC. Among these, patients over 75 years old, who constituted 44.4% of the cohort, accounted for 62.6% of PC involvement. PC consultation rates were similar between sexes. White patients made up 67.8% of the HF population but represented 73.6% of PC consultations, while other minority groups had a lower proportion of PC consultations.
LVADs were implanted in 0.09% of HF patients, with 69.5% between 50-74 years old. A significant gender disparity was noted; 76.6% of LVAD recipients were male, and 23.4% female.
PC was only involved in the care of 17.2% of LVAD patients. Age distribution of LVAD patients PC mirrored the overall LVAD cohort. Gender disparity persisted, with 80.4% of LVAD patients receiving PC being male, and 19.6% female. Racial disparities were less pronounced in this group.
Conclusion: Despite proven benefits of PC involvement on the quality of life, psychological well being, and advanced care planning, specific guidelines in LVAD patients are yet to be established. This study underscores the need for more comprehensive guidelines promoting PC integration in the management of LVAD patients, and highlights demographic disparities in PC utilization among HF and LVAD patients.