Abstract Body: Background: There is a growing body of data to support the presence of sex disparities in outcomes in cardiovascular related hospitalizations. Despite this, there remains a paucity of data on relationships between sex and in-hospital outcomes in cases of Complete Heart Block (CHB).
Methods: We examined the 2016-2020 Nationwide Readmission Database (NRD) to identify patients with a principal diagnosis of CHB. Men were used as our control group, while women comprised our cohort. The primary outcome was in-patient mortality. Secondary outcomes included odds of mechanical ventilation use, all cause 30-day readmission, length of stay (LOS) and total hospitalization charges (THC). Multivariate linear and logistic regression models were used to adjust for confounders.
Results: Among the patients with CHB (N = 175,257), 45% were Female. A Female sex was associated with higher odds of in-hospital mortality (adjusted OR [aOR] 1.42, 95% CI 1.3 – 1.55, p<0.001) compared to male patients with CHB. Additionally, female sex was associated with a higher likelihood of mechanical ventilation use (aOR 1.1, 95% CI 1.03 – 1.2, p=0.004), all cause 30-day readmission (aOR 1.08, 95% CI 1.03 – 1.13, p=0.004), longer LOS (4.13 days vs 3.86 days, p<0.001) and lower THC ($89,908 vs. $94,590, p=0.002) compared to male patients with CHB.
Conclusion: Among patients with CHB, female sex was associated with higher odds of mortality, non-fatal adverse events, and lower resource utilization compared to male patients.