Prescription Patterns of Sacubitril/Valsartan in an Outpatient Population Diagnosed with Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction After a Recent Hospitalization

Background: Sacubitril/Valsartan is a first-line treatment for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) according to international guidelines. However, achieving the target doses of guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) remains a challenge in clinical practice and its efficacy at suboptimal dose (<200 mg/day) versus angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors remains debated. Our objective was to evaluate the titration of Sacubitril/Valsartan within 3 months of hospital discharge in patients with HFrEF. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a secondary care hospital in Geneva, Switzerland. Patients hospitalized between 2020 and 2022 with HFrEF, discharged with Sacubitril/Valsartan, were included. Physicians managing patients discharged with a Sacubitril/Valsartan dose of less than 200 mg/day were contacted and asked to complete a structured 7-item questionnaire regarding dose adjustments within the first 3 months following hospital discharge. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients who did not achieve GDMT doses of Sacubitril/Valsartan, along with reasons for inadequate titration. Results: Overall, 30 patients out of 79 (38%, 95% confidence interval [27–49%]) had not been titrated to an effective dose of Sacubitril/Valsartan 3 months after hospitalization. Of these thirty patients, the primary reason for not titrating cited by their practitioners (n = 27) was that titration was perceived to be within the cardiologist’s scope of responsibility (15/27, 56%). While most physicians (66%) knew the target doses for Sacubitril/Valsartan, 83% of them were unaware that the clinical benefit of sacubitril/valsartan at doses below 50% of the target compared to ACE inhibitors remains uncertain and is not well supported by current evidence. Conclusions: In this cohort, more than a third of patients with HFrEF were not titrated to guideline-recommended target doses of sacubitril/valsartan within 3 months of hospital discharge. This finding raises questions about the clinical and economic value of initiating sacubitril/valsartan without subsequent dose optimization, especially given the uncertainty surrounding the efficacy of suboptimal dosing compared to ACE inhibitors.