Introduction:

Acute heart failure is a frequent reason for consulting to emergency department, it generates long hospital stays and high costs for the health system.

Objective:

To determine the associated factors with prolonged hospital stay in patients hospitalized for acute heart failure in a teaching hospital.

Methods:

Retrospective cohort study, adult patients with acute heart failure were included. Demographic variables, comorbidities, and routine laboratory results were obtained. Prolonged hospitalization was defined as a stay greater than 5 and 10 days, respectively.

Results:

A total of 776 patients were included in the analysis, 56% were men, the mean age was 71.5 years, and ejection fraction was 39.8%. Factors associated with prolonged hospital stay were: age, elevated troponin, hyperglycemia, and albumin < 3 g/dl. For the 10-day cut-off, additionally, systolic blood pressure, heart rate and elevation of natriuretic peptides were identified.

Conclusions:

Comprehensive evaluation of clinical variables and laboratory results is useful to identify patients at increased risk for prolonged hospital stays.

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