Burden of Repeated Hospitalizations on Patients with Heart Failure: An Analysis of Administrative and Claims Data in Japan

Background Repeated hospitalization is a predictor of outcomes in heart failure, indicating the presence of symptoms, a deteriorated condition at pre-admission, and worsened prognosis. Objectives The current database study aimed to understand the clinical and economic burden of repeated hospitalizations among patients with heart failure in Japan. The effect of repeated hospitalizations on the subsequent in-hospital mortality was the primary objective; economic burden of heart failure after discharge was investigated as a secondary outcome. Methods Between 2013 and 2018, administrative claims and discharge summary data of patients aged ≥ 20 years and diagnosed with heart failure were obtained from a Diagnosis Procedure Combination database maintained by Medical Data Vision. Hospitalization, mortality, and economic burden data were analyzed. Results This study included 49,094 patients. The mean length of the first hospital stay was 22.9 days. The in-hospital mortality rate was approximately 10%, with one to five repeated hospitalizations. The time interval between repeated hospitalizations for heart failure decreased with an increasing number of hospitalizations. In-hospital mortality did not increase even with an increasing number of hospitalizations. The mean heart failure-related healthcare cost per patient was ¥564,281 ± 990,447 (US$5178 ± 9,088), 67.3% of which was hospitalization costs. Among hospitalization costs, other costs were high, mainly for basic hospitalization fees (71.7%; ¥233,146/person-year). Conclusions Repeated hospitalization did not increase in-hospital mortality; however, it may shorten the intervals between heart failure-related hospitalizations, potentially caused by deterioration of the patient’s condition, and increase the clinical and economic burden on patients.