Table 2.
Example Candidate Predictor Covariates
| Predictor | Ascertainment & Definition | Operational Definition | Type | d.f. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| * Troponin I | Core Lab Test | Laboratory Value | c | 2 |
| * Sodium | Core Lab Test | Laboratory Value | c | 3 |
| * Vital Sign(s) | EMR | Vital Sign Value | c | 2 |
| * Creatinine | Core Lab Test | Laboratory value | c | 2 |
| * BNP | Core Lab Test | Laboratory value | c | 1 |
| * Hemoglobin | Standard Lab Test | Laboratory value | c | 1 |
| * Moderate dyspnea after Treatment | Interview | Yes/no | d | 1 |
| * Urinary Output | EMR | Milliliters | c | 1 |
| $White Blood Count | Standard Lab Test | Laboratory value | c | 1 |
| $BUN | Core Lab Test | Laboratory value | c | 1 |
| $Literacy | Interview | Yes/no | d | 1 |
| ≥ 2 HF admits in last 6 months | Interview and EMR | Yes/no | d | 1 |
| Overall DF | 20 | |||
*
= Significant Predictor in predictive instruments $ = historical risk predictors c=continuous (modeled without assuming linearity using restricted cubic splines), d=dichotomous d.f. = degrees of freedom = # knots −1, 1 for linear