Table 1. Characteristics of Veterans Hospitalized With Heart Failure and Pneumonia in the First and Last Years of the Studya.
| Characteristic | Heart Failure | Pneumonia | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Year (n = 20 228)b | Last Year (n = 25 003)c | First Year (n = 18 049)b | Last Year (n = 20 555)c | |
| Age, mean (SD), y | 71.3 (11.5) | 71.9 (11.2) | 69.9 (12.6) | 71.6 (12.0) |
| Male, No. (%) | 19 944 (98.6) | 24 566 (98.3) | 17 546 (97.2) | 19 872 (96.7) |
| Primary diagnosis of sepsis/RF, No. (%) | NA | NA | 1958 (10.8) | 6828 (33.2) |
| Claims-based comorbid conditions, No. (%) | ||||
| Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty | 1718 (8.5) | 3105 (12.4) | 737 (4.1) | 1160 (5.6) |
| Coronary artery bypass graft | 4454 (22.0) | 4826 (19.3) | 1471 (8.2) | 1492 (7.3) |
| Congestive heart failure | 15 986 (79.0) | 20 353 (81.4) | 4951 (27.4) | 6266 (30.5) |
| Acute myocardial infarction | 1552 (7.7) | 2096 (8.4) | 496 (2.7) | 609 (3.0) |
| Ischemic heart disease | 2364 (11.7) | 3622 (14.5) | 749 (4.1) | 1103 (5.4) |
| Chronic atherosclerosis | 13 565 (67.1) | 16 340 (65.4) | 6522 (36.1) | 7506 (36.5) |
| Cardiorespiratory failure and shock | 2948 (14.6) | 5832 (23.3) | 2628 (14.6) | 4752 (23.1) |
| Valvular/rheumatic heart disease | 4612 (22.8) | 5892 (23.6) | NA | NA |
| Hypertension | 17 813 (88.1) | 22 463 (89.8) | 13 302 (73.7) | 15 623 (76.0) |
| Stroke | 2044 (10.1) | 2703 (10.8) | 1622 (9.0) | 1893 (9.2) |
| Cerebrovascular | NA | NA | 1898 (10.5) | 2290 (11.1) |
| Renal failure | 9683 (47.9) | 13 885 (55.5) | 4381 (24.3) | 6678 (32.5) |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 8764 (43.3) | 11 363 (45.4) | 8790 (48.7) | 10 550 (51.3) |
| Pneumonia | 4379 (21.6) | 5911 (23.6) | 6536 (36.2) | 8306 (40.4) |
| Malnutrition | NA | NA | 837 (4.6) | 1224 (6.0) |
| Diabetes mellitus with complications | 11 978 (59.2) | 15 529 (62.1) | NA | NA |
| Dementia/senility | 2055 (10.2) | 2943 (11.8) | 2470 (13.7) | 3301 (16.1) |
| Functional disability | 1715 (8.5) | 2251 (9.0) | 1683 (9.3) | 1958 (9.5) |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 5986 (29.6) | 7716 (30.9) | 3864 (21.4) | 5028 (24.5) |
| Cancer | 666 (3.3) | 1039 (4.2) | 1967 (10.9) | 2547 (12.4) |
| Trauma | 5498 (27.2) | 7586 (30.3) | 4992 (27.7) | 6042 (29.4) |
| Major psychiatric disease | 2662 (13.2) | 3900 (15.6) | 3298 (18.3) | 4151 (20.2) |
| Chronic liver disease | 1122 (5.5) | 2057 (8.2) | 1035 (5.7) | 1458 (7.1) |
| Hematological disorder | NA | NA | 498 (2.8) | 471 (2.3) |
| Iron deficiency | NA | NA | 6483 (35.9) | 7900 (38.4) |
| Depression | NA | NA | 4312 (23.9) | 5290 (25.7) |
| Parkinson disease | NA | NA | 444 (2.5) | 546 (2.7) |
| Seizure disorder | NA | NA | 882 (4.9) | 992 (4.8) |
| Lung fibrosis | NA | NA | 1374 (7.6) | 1696 (8.3) |
| Asthma | NA | NA | 995 (5.5) | 1229 (6.0) |
| Vertebral fracture | NA | NA | 205 (1.1) | 391 (1.9) |
| Surgical admission | 735 (3.6) | 1246 (5.0) | 738 (4.1) | 936 (4.6) |
| No. of claims-based comorbidities, mean (SD) | 6.0 (2.8) | 6.5 (3.0) | 5.0 (3.1) | 5.5 (3.3) |
| Clinical variables, mean (SD) | ||||
| Blood pressure, mm Hgd | ||||
| Systolic | 126.7 (31.0) | 130.3 (29.1) | 126.6 (23.3) | 128.6 (22.5) |
| Diastolic | 83.0 (25.2) | 81.4 (21.8) | 70.6 (15.4) | 71.4 (13.7) |
| Heart rated | 80.1 (18.4) | 81.5 (18.8) | 90.2 (19.1) | 89.9 (18.4) |
| Respiratory rated | 26.0 (33.7) | 22.3 (24.8) | 21.8 (15.2) | 20.2 (7.4) |
| Oxygen saturation, %d | 93.2 (15.0) | 94.6 (10.7) | 94.3 (7.1) | 94.9 (4.0) |
| Body mass indexd,e | 30.9 (8.0) | 31.5 (7.9) | 27.0 (7.0) | 27.5 (7.1) |
| Sodium, mEq/Ld | 138.4 (4.2) | 138.3 (4.2) | 136.6 (4.8) | 136.6 (4.8) |
| Potassium, mEq/Ld | 4.2 (0.6) | 4.2 (0.6) | 4.1 (0.6) | 4.1 (0.6) |
| Blood urea nitrogen, mg/dLd | 30.4 (17.2) | 29.8 (16.9) | 23.8 (14.6) | 23.9 (14.5) |
| Creatinine, mg/dLd | 1.7 (0.9) | 1.7 (0.9) | 1.4 (1.1) | 1.5 (1.3) |
| Hematocrit, %d | 36.4 (6.0) | 36.7 (6.3) | 36.4 (6.1) | 36.9 (6.4) |
| Serum glucose, mg/dLd | NA | NA | 136.9 (53.4) | 139.8 (54.9) |
| Inpatient admission 30 d prior, No. (%) | NA | NA | 3342 (18.5) | 4288 (20.9) |
| B-type natriuretic peptide, pg/mLd | 1346.7 (1446.4) | 1359.8 (1592.0) | NA | NA |
| Left ventricular ejection fraction, %d | 37.6 (15.6) | 38.4 (15.4) | NA | NA |
Abbreviations: NA, not applicable for a given clinical condition; RF, respiratory failure.
a
Mean (SD) reported for continuous variables; count (rate) reported for categorical variables.
b
First year, January 2009 to December 2009.
c
Last year, October 2014 to September 2015.
d
Summary statistics reported among nonmissing values.
e
Calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared.