Variation in Hospital-use and Outcomes Associated with Pulmonary Artery Catheterization in Heart Failure in the United States

Abstract

Background There has been an increase in the use of pulmonary artery (PA) catheters in heart failure (HF) in the United States in recent years. However, patterns of hospital-use and trends in patient outcomes are not known. Methods and Results In the National Inpatient Sample 2001–2012, using ICD-9 codes we identified 11,888,525 adult (≥18 years) HF hospitalizations nationally, of which an estimated 75,209 (SE 0.6%) received a PA catheter. In 2001, the number of hospitals with ≥1 PA catheterization was 1753, decreasing to 1183 in 2011. The mean PA catheter use per hospital trended from 4.9/year in 2001 (limits 1–133) to 3.8/year in 2007 (limits 1–46), but increased to 5.5/year in 2011 (limits 1–70). During 2001–2006, PA catheterization declined across hospitals; however, in 2007–2012 there has been a disproportionate increase at hospitals with large bedsize, teaching programs, and advanced HF capabilities. The overall in-hospital mortality with PA catheter use was higher than without PA catheter use (13.1% vs. 3.4%, P<0.0001), however, in propensity-matched analysis, differences in mortality between these groups have attenuated over time – risk-adjusted odds ratio for mortality for PA-catheterization, 1.66 (95% CI 1.60–1.74) in 2001–2003 down to 1.04 (95% CI 0.97– 1.12) in 2010–2012. Conclusions There is substantial hospital-level variability in PA catheterization in HF along with increasing volume at fewer hospitals overrepresented by large, academic hospitals with advanced HF capabilities. This is accompanied by a decline in excess mortality associated with PA catheterization.