48 Iron deficiency in heart failure: a retrospective review of current practice and patient outcomes in a district general hospital

Abstract

Iron deficiency (ID) affects up to 50% of patients with heart failure (HF) with higher rates in decompensated, hospitalised patients.1 ID is associated with poor functional capacity and recurrent hospital admissions. The 2016 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines for management of HF advocate measurement of ferritin and Transferrin Saturations (TSAT) in all HF patients. ID is defined by serum ferritin All 111 (n=111) inpatients with a diagnosis of HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), admitted between April–October 2016 were included. The mean age of the population was 75 (30­100), 37% female and 63% male. 64% (n=71) were anaemic (Male n=46, Female n=25) as defined by our laboratory haemoglobin reference ranges for gender. Only 51% (n=57) of all patients had Ferritin checked during admission or within 3 months of discharge with an average Ferritin of 161 mg/L (11–1432). 30.6% (n=34) of all patients had absolute iron deficiency (Ferritin 47.8% (n=53) died in the 1 year follow-up period with 9% (n=10) not surviving past the initial admission. Of the 101 patients surviving the initial admission, there was a total of 135 hospital admissions within the follow-up period, 58% (n=78) of which were directly related to HF. 11.7% of all patients (n=13) were prescribed oral iron therapy on discharge and only 2 out of all patients had intravenous iron therapy during admission or within 6 months of discharge. This study highlights the high readmission and mortality rates of hospitalised HF patients and that ID is an underdiagnosed comorbidity in this population. A new protocol has been proposed which involves mandatory testing of ferritin, and TSAT if required, at the time of diagnosis and during regular follow-up. Local research is underway to further evaluate the benefits of iron replacement in HF and the effects of the proposed protocol on this population. References . Cohen-Solal A, Damy T, Terbah M. High prevalence of iron deficiency in patients with acute decompensated heart failure. Eur J Heart Fail2014Sep;16(9):984–91. . Ponikowski P, Voors AA, Anker SD. ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure: The task force for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Eur Heart J. 2016Jul 14;37(27):2129–200.