Abstract Body (Do not enter title and authors here): Introduction: Timely involvement of palliative care services for patients with advanced heart failure (HF) improves symptom burden, functional status, and resource utilization. The Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) is an objective tool used by palliative care specialists to assess physical ability and guide palliative interventions. Patients with lower KPS have poor outcomes, however evidence linking clinical parameters such as New York Heart Association (NYHA) class, ejection fraction (EF), and albumin with KPS remains limited.
Goals: To identify clinical parameters associated with poor functional status in hospitalized patients with advanced HF
Methods: Individuals with acute decompensated HF admitted between 2021-2023, ineligible for advanced cardiac therapies, and referred to palliative care were included. Data collected encompassed demographic variables, clinical parameters (NYHA classification, KPS, comorbidities, EF, Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), albumin, creatinine), and palliative care interventions (family meetings, advanced care planning discussions). Bivariate and multivariate analyses, utilizing Kruskal-Wallis and chi-square tests along with adjusted regression models, were conducted using R to compare characteristics, with a low KPS (≤40) as the primary outcome.
Results: A total of 97 individuals were included, with a mean age of 68 ± 17.7 years, 32 (33.0%) were female. Hypoalbuminemia was directly associated with KPS. Patients with albumin levels ≤3 g/dL were more likely to have KPS ≤40 (OR 2.6 [CI 1.03-6.7], p=0.04). NYHA class, EF, serum creatinine, and comorbid conditions (chronic kidney disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, dementia) were not significantly associated with KPS. Those with lower KPS scores had higher utilization of palliative care services for family meetings, although did not differ significantly in advanced care planning status.
Conclusions: In our analysis of hospitalized patients with advanced HF, hypoalbuminemia had the highest predictive value for low functional status. Low KPS score was associated with increased utilization of palliative care services and higher rates of inpatient mortality.