title: Decompensated chagasic heart failure versus non-chagasic heart failure at a tertiary care hospital: Clinical characteristics and outcomes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate clinical and epidemiological characteristics and clinical outcomes in patients hospitalized with decompensated heart failure (DHF), with a comparison between Chagas and non-Chagas disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a retrospective cohort study involving 136 patients consecutively admitted with DHF between January 1 and December 31, 2011, with the following outcomes: acute renal failure, cardiogenic shock, rehospitalization, and hospital death. Individuals aged ≥ 18 years with DHF were included while those with more than 10% of missing data regarding outcomes were excluded. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 17.0. Chi-squared test was used to compare proportions. Student's T test was used to compare means. Kaplan-Meier and log-rank tests were used to compare rehospitalization rates between the two groups over time.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Chagasic and non-chagasic patients were compared. The first had lower mean systolic blood pressure (111.8±18.4 versus 128.8±24.4, p<0.01), lower mean diastolic blood pressure (74.5±13.6 versus 82.0±15.2, p<0.01) and lower left ventricular ejection fraction (26.5±6.2 versus 41.5±18.9, p<0.01). In all, 20 patients with Chagas (50.1%) were rehospitalized, compared to 35 patients in the non-Chagas group (35.4%, p=0.04). Log rank test = 4.5 (p<0.01) showed that rehospitalization rates between the two groups over time (Kaplan-Meier curves) differed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Chagas disease was associated with lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure and lower left ventricular ejection fraction. The rehospitalization rate was higher in Chagas disease.
authors.affiliation: Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saúde Pública, Salvador, BA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luiza Nauane Borges Azevedo Dos
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Medicine and Human Health, Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saúde Pública, Salvador, BA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Mário de Seixas
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.affiliation: Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saúde Publica, Salvador, BA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Eloina Nunes de
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Internal Medicine Residency Program, Obras Sociais Irmã Dulce, Salvador, BA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carlos Antônio Gusmão de
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Moura
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Sergipe, São Cristóvão, SE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ayslan Jorge Santos de
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Araujo
authors.affiliation: Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saúde Pública, Salvador, BA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ítalo Magalhães
authors.initials: ÍM
authors.lastname: Gusmão
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Medicine and Human Health, Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saúde Pública, Salvador, BA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gilson Soares
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Feitosa-Filho
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Medicine and Human Health, Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saúde Pública, Salvador, BA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Constança Margarida Sampaio
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Cruz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002598:Chagas Cardiomyopathy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult