Abstract Body (Do not enter title and authors here): Background: Interest in hospital at home (HaH) has grown, driven by recognition of potential to ameliorate capacity constraints and lower total costs of care associated with traditional “brick-and-mortar” (BaM) hospitalizations. Heart failure (HF) patients often require decongestion with intravenous diuretics and titration of multiple guideline-directed medical therapies (GDMT). We aimed to demonstrate that a virtual HaH model represents a safe and feasible option for patients with acute heart failure (AHF).
Methods: This was a retrospective cohort analysis of patients admitted to the Cleveland Clinic HaH after clinical and social screening and enrollment in HaH from 4/2023 to 1/2024 (Fig 1). Patients with AHF were identified through pre-specified ICD-10 codes. We performed chart abstraction to evaluate demographic characteristics, admissions, vitals, lab values, 30-day readmissions/death, use of individual HF medications, and tabulated GDMT scores among this cohort of HaH patients. Statistical analysis involved parametric and non-parametric paired analysis at admission and discharge.
Results: 81% of patients (78/96) with AHF that were offered HaH as an alternative to BaM hospitalization opted to enroll in HaH. Patient were of median age 81 years [IQR 16], median LVEF 51.0% [IQR 20], and median admission NTproBNP 3518 [IQR 4619]; 66% of patients were male. Among the cohort, 7 (8.9%) patients were readmitted 30 days from discharge, and there were no deaths in the cohort at 30 month follow-up. By paired analysis, there was a net increase in GDMT score. Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and weight significantly trended down after admission to the HaH (Fig 2).
Conclusions: In an early cohort of patients, HaH was selected by most eligible patients over BaM hospital care. There were low rates of readmission and net improvement in GDMT use. HaH can be safe and effective for selected HF patients, though further prospective research is needed.