If you don't remember your password, you can reset it by entering your email address and clicking the Reset Password button. You will then receive an email that contains a secure link for resetting your password
If the address matches a valid account an email will be sent to __email__ with instructions for resetting your password
STRESS ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY WITH AND WITHOUT ULTRASOUND CONTRAST AGENT USE IN 26,716 IN-PATIENTS: A PROPENSITY-MATCHED COHORT STUDY EVALUATING LENGTH OF STAY AND HOSPITALIZATION COST
We examined length of stay (LOS), and cost of hospitalization (COST), in a large multicenter analysis of hospitalized patients undergoing clinically indicated stress echocardiography (SE) with and without use of an ultrasound contrast agent.
Methods
Retrospective analysis was performed using validated discharges included in a large outcomes database (Premier Healthcare Solutions, Charlotte, NC) during the interval from 2002-2009. Two propensity-matched cohorts were constructed: treatment cohort included patients who had SE with the perflutren lipid microsphere injectable contrast agent Definity®,(Lantheus Medical Imaging, N. Billerica, MA) while the control cohort included patients who had SE without use of contrast agent. Multivariate gamma regression was used to compare LOS, and COST after performance of SE.
Results
26,716 patients were included (13,358 patients/cohort) representing data from 321 U.S. acute care hospitals. Baseline characteristics were comparable between contrast and non-contrast cohorts, Table. Contrast cohort showed a shorter LOS (3.3%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.948, 0.987; p=.002), and lower COST (-5.1%, CI 0.926, 0.976; p<.001) than the non-contrast cohort. Subgroup analysis by type of SE (exercise vs pharmacologic) demonstrated that patients undergoing contrast pharmacologic SE had significantly shorter (3.3%) LOS (95% CI 0.940, 0.996; p=.024), and 8% lower COST (95% CI 0.900, 0.958; p<.001), than non-contrast cohort. Patients undergoing contrast exercise SE had significantly shorter (4.1%) LOS (95% CI 0.933, 0.987; p=.004) but insignificantly (0.9%) lower COST (95% CI 0.955, 1.027; p=0.614).
Conclusion
Use of ultrasound contrast agents during stress echocardiography in hospitalized patients was associated with shorter lengths of stay and lower hospitalization costs.
00947-7&id=fx1.jpg){kind=link}