Philadelphia-based University of Pennsylvania researchers found the number of heart transplant emergency department visits increased with high admission rates but low in-hospital mortality rates.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, analyzed 177,450 heart transplant-related emergency department visits between 2009 and 2018.
Here are six findings:
- The common primary diagnoses at ED visits was infection (24%) and cardiac primary diagnoses (10%).
- Overall mortality rate was low, at 1.6,% and the mortality rate for emergency department visits was 0.44%.
- The average length of stay was 3.1 days.
- Comorbidities were high, with 42% of patients having hypertension, 38% having diabetes and 31% having more than two comorbidities.
- Renal primary diagnosis had the highest risk of admission, and cardiac primary diagnosis had the highest odds of death.
- The median charge per ED visit or hospitalization was $13,304.