Sarcoidosis with HF tied to increased readmission, hospital costs, mortality

Patients with sarcoidosis with heart failure (HF) appear to have an increased rate of arrhythmia at index admission, according to a recent study. In addition, sarcoidosis with HF contributes to higher hospital cost, readmission, and mortality rates relative to sarcoidosis without HF.

A total of 97,961 hospitalized patients (median age 63 years, 37.9 percent male) had been diagnosed with sarcoidosis (35.9 percent with HF vs 64.1 percent without HF).

On index admission, sarcoidosis patients with HF were more likely to present with atrioventricular block (3.3 percent vs 1.4 percent; p<0.0001), ventricular tachycardia (6.5 percent vs 1.3 percent; p<0.0001), ventricular fibrillation (0.4 percent vs 0.1 percent; p<0.0001), and atrial fibrillation (22.1 percent vs 7.5 percent; p<0.0001) than those without HF.

HF patients also had a greater risk of readmission (hazard ratio, 1.28; p<0.0001), longer length of hospital stay (5 vs 4 days; p<0.0001), higher adjusted healthcare-associated costs ($9,667.0 vs $9,0.87.1; p<0.0001), and increased mortality rates on readmission (5.1 percent vs 3.8 percent; p<0.0001).

HF, increasing age, male sex, higher Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), and liver disease were also significantly associated with mortality.

In this study, the investigators accessed the US Nationwide Readmission Database from 2010 to 2019 to identify sarcoidosis patients with and without HF using the International Classification of Diseases, 9th and 10th Editions. Those with ischaemic heart disease were excluded. The two cohorts were then propensity matched for age, gender, and CCI.

Finally, the investigators assessed the clinical characteristics, length of stay, adjusted healthcare-related costs, 90-day readmission, and mortality.