The associations between direct and delayed critical care unit admission with mortality and readmissions among patients with heart failure

Background — Although greater than 20% of patients hospitalized with heart failure (HF) are admitted to a critical care unit, associated outcomes and costs have not been delineated. We determined 30-day mortality, 30-day readmissions, and hospital costs associated with direct or delayed critical care unit admission.

Methods — In a population-based analysis, we compared HF patients who were admitted to critical care directly from the emergency department (direct), after initial ward admission (delayed), or never admitted to critical care during their hospital stay (ward-only).

Results — Among 178,997 HF patients (median age 80 [IQR 71-86] years, 49.6% men) 36,175 (20.2%) were admitted to critical care during their hospitalization (Apr 2003 to March 2018). Critical care patients were admitted directly from the emergency department (direct, 81.9%) or after initial ward admission (delayed, 18.1%). Multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios for all-cause 30-day mortality were: 1.69 for direct (95% CI; 1.55, 1.84) and 4.92 for delayed (95% CI; 4.26, 5.68) critical care-admitted compared to ward-only patients. Multivariable-adjusted repeated events analysis demonstrated increased risk for all-cause 30-day readmission with both direct (HR 1.04, 95%CI; 1.01, 1.08, p = 0.013) and delayed critical care unit admissions (HR 1.20, 95%CI; 1.13, 1.28, p < .001). Median 30-day costs were $12,163 for direct admissions, $20,173 for delayed admissions, and $9,575 for ward-only patients (p < .001).

Conclusions — While critical care unit admission indicates increased risk of mortality and readmission at 30 days, those who experienced delayed critical care unit admission exhibited the highest risk of death and highest costs of care.