BACKGROUND: Changes in N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels may not fully translate into patient-reported health status in patients with heart failure (HF). We aimed to evaluate the correlation between NT-proBNP levels and patient-reported health status changes at one month after discharge of patients, and their associations with risk of death and rehospitalization in patients with acute HF. METHODS: We used data from the China Patient-centered Evaluative Assessment of Cardiac Events Prospective Heart Failure Study (PEACE 5p-HF Study). Patient-reported health status was measured by the 12-item Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ-12). Patients who were hospitalized for HF and completed the KCCQ-12 and NT-proBNP tests before and one month after discharge were eligible in our study. We stratified patients into different groups based on NT-proBNP levels (i.e., improved, stable, and deteriorated) and KCCQ-12 scores (i.e., not deteriorated and deteriorated). We also examined the associations of the joint NT-proBNP and KCCQ-12 change with the risk of one-year and four-year clinical outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 2461 patients were included in the analysis. The mean age was 64.06 ± 13.51 years, and 36.37% (895/2461) of the study population were female. Among patients with improved NT-proBNP levels, 115 (10.95%) patients had deteriorated KCCQ-12 scores. The correlation between the change in the KCCQ-12 score and NT-proBNP level was weak ( r2 = 0.002, P = 0.013). Stratification by changes in the KCCQ-12 score revealed subgroups with distinctive risks, such that patients with deteriorated KCCQ-12 scores in any of the NT-proBNP change groups exhibited an increased risk of one-year all-cause death than participants with not deteriorated KCCQ-12 scores in any of the NT-proBNP change groups. Patients with improved NT-proBNP levels and deteriorated KCCQ-12 scores presented greater risks of one-year all-cause death (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.45, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.34-4.48) than patients with stable NT-proBNP levels and not deteriorated KCCQ-12 scores (HR [95% CI], 1.77 [1.25-2.53]). CONCLUSIONS: A discrepancy between changes in NT-proBNP levels and KCCQ-12 scores was common. The change in NT-proBNP levels was not sufficient to characterize critical aspects related to HF during one month after discharge of patients. Changes in the KCCQ-12 score exhibit complementary information to NT-proBNP levels for the prediction of clinical outcomes in patients with acute HF. REGISTRATION www.clinicaltrials.gov (No. NCT02878811).
Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Health Status ; Heart Failure/metabolism* ; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain/metabolism* ; Peptide Fragments/metabolism* ; Prospective Studies

Objective: To assess the trends in clinical characteristics, treatment, and outcomes for hospitalized patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in central-western urban hospitals of China in 2001, 2006 and 2011. Methods: We used a 2-stage, random sampling strategy to create a Chinese central-western urban hospital representative sample of 2152 patients undergoing PCI at 26 hospitals in China PEACE- retrospective CathPCI study and calculated the weighted data of clinical information in each year. Results: Between 2001 and 2011, the admission rate for PCI increased by 46 folds. Compared with 2001, the patients undergoing PCI were more likely to be female, older than 80 years, and to have history of diabetes, dyslipidemia and PCI in 2011. The proportion of trans-radial PCIs increased from 3.5% in 2001 to 87.6% in 2011 (Ptrend < 0.0001); the proportion of drug eluting stents (DES) among all the implanted stents increased from 16.4% in 2001 to 95.7% in 2011 (Ptrend < 0.0001), largely due to increased use of domestic DES. Less than 5% of medical record of admission for PCI documented door time and balloon time. The median length of stay decreased from 13 days in 2001 to 10 days in 2011 (Ptrend < 0.0001). In-hospital mortality did not change signiifcantly, but both any bleeding and access bleeding events were decreased signiifcantly over time (Ptrend < 0.05). Conclusion: There has been a rapid increase in the volume and significant change in treatment patterns of PCI over the 10-year period from 2001 to 2011 in Chinese central-western urban hospitals. We identiifed quality gaps that represent opportunities to improve medical care.