Admission inferior vena cava measurements are associated with mortality after hospitalization for acute decompensated heart failure

BACKGROUND: Prognostication of patients hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) is important to patients, providers, and healthcare systems. Few bedside tools exist to prognosticate patients hospitalized with ADHF. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between inferior vena cava (IVC) diameter and postdischarge mortality in patients hospitalized with ADHF. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: A 247-bed urban teaching hospital in Spain PATIENTS: Ninety-seven patients hospitalized with ADHF. INTERVENTION: None. MEASUREMENTS: The IVC diameter and collapsibility were measured by a hospitalist at the time of admission and discharge. Primary outcome was 90-day all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes were readmission rates at 90 and 180 days, and 180-day all-cause mortality. Patients were followed for 180 days. RESULTS: diameter was an independent predictor of 90-day mortality (hazard ratio HR: 5.88; 95% confidence interval CI: 1.21-28.10; P = 0.025) and 90-day readmission (HR: 3.20; 95% CI: 1.24-8.21; P = 0.016). CONCLUSION: In patients hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure, a dilated IVC by bedside ultrasound at the time of admission is associated with a higher 90-day mortality after hospitalization. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2016;11:778-784. © 2016 Society of Hospital Medicine.