• Pere Llorens, Patricia Javaloyes, Josep Masip, Víctor Gil, Pablo Herrero-Puente, Francisco Javier Martín-Sánchez, Javier Jacob, José Manuel Garrido, Sergio Herrera-Mateo, María Pilar López Díez, Luis Concepción-Aramendia, Òscar Miró, and Grupo ICA-SEMES .
• Servicio de Urgencias, Corta Estancia y Hospitalización a Domicilio, Hospital General de Alicante, ISABIAL-Fundación FISABIO, Alicante, España. Facultad de Medicina, Universitat Miguel Hernández, Elx, Alicante, España.
• Emergencias. 2019 Oct 1; 31 (5): 318-326.

ObjectivesTo determine whether chest radiographs can contribute to prognosis in patients with acute heart failure (AHF).Material And MethodsConsecutive patients with AHF were enrolled by the participating emergency departments. Radiographic variables assessed were the presence or absence of evidence of cardiomegaly and pleural effusion and the pulmonary parenchymal pattern observed (vascular redistribution, interstitial edema, and/or alveolar edema). We gathered variables for the AHF episode and the patient's baseline state. Outcomes were in-hospital and 1-year mortality; hospital stay longer than 7 days, and a composite of events within 30 days of discharge (revisit, rehospitalization, and/or death). Crude and adjusted hazard ratios were calculated for the 3 categories of radiographic variables. The variables were also studied in combination.ResultsA total of 2703 patients with a mean (SD) age of 81 (19) years were enrolled; 54.5% were women. Cardiomegaly was observed in 1711 cases (76.8%) and pleural effusion in 992 (36.7%). A pulmonary parenchymal pattern was observed in all cases, as follows: vascular redistribution in 1672 (61.9%), interstitial edema in 629 (23.3%) and alveolar edema in 402 (14.9%). The adjusted hazard ratios showed that cardiomegaly lacked prognostic value. However, the presence of pleural effusion was associated with a 23% (95% CI, 2%-49%) higher rate of the 30- day composite outcome; in-hospital mortality was 89% (30%-177%) higher in the presence of alveolar edema, and 1-year mortality was 38% (14%-67%) higher in association with vascular redistribution. The results for the variables in combination were consistent with the results for individual variables.ConclusionA diagnostic chest radiograph can also contribute to the prediction of adverse events. Pleural effusion is associated with a higher rate of events after discharge, and alveolar edema is associated with higher mortality.

38 keywords...

hide…