Post-heart transplant ED visits remain high

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:

1. The common primary diagnoses at ED visits was infection (24%) and cardiac primary diagnoses (10%).
   
   
2. Overall mortality rate was low, at 1.6,% and the mortality rate for emergency department visits was 0.44%.
   
   
3. The average length of stay was 3.1 days.
   
   
4. Comorbidities were high, with 42% of patients having hypertension, 38% having diabetes and 31% having more than two comorbidities.
   
   
5. Renal primary diagnosis had the highest risk of admission, and cardiac primary diagnosis had the highest odds of death.
   
   
6. The median charge per ED visit or hospitalization was $13,304.