Trends and Characteristics of Hospitalizations in Patients With Heart Transplant.

There is limited data regarding the leading causes of hospitalization among heart transplant (HT) recipients and the characteristics of these hospitalizations. We conducted a retrospective analysis of the National Inpatient Sample weighted data between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2018, which included hospitalized adults ≥18 years with a history of HT. Primary outcomes were the 10 most common primary causes of hospitalizations, clinical characteristics, inpatient mortality, length of stay, and inflation-adjusted care costs. We divided the study population in two period (2004-2014 and 2016-2018) to report the most common causes of hospitalizations. We identified a total of 209,771 weighted hospitalizations with a history of HT between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2018. Between 2004 and 2014, pneumonia (6.21%), acute or unspecified renal failure (4.94%), complication of device, implant or graft (4.66%), sepsis (4.56%), and congestive heart failure (2.94%) were the most common causes of hospitalizations for HT recipient. Between 2016 and 2018, sepsis (9.03%), acute or unspecific renal failure (6.27%), complication of device, implant or graft (5.16%), pneumonia (4.92%), and complications of surgical procedure or medical device (3.86%) were the most common causes of hospitalizations for HT recipient. Sepsis had the highest inpatient mortality accounting for 11.32% of inpatient mortality in the 2004-2014 period and 6% in the 2016-2018 period. In summary, infections, acute renal failure, and other transplant complications are the leading causes of hospitalization among HT recipients. Sepsis carries the highest inpatient mortality.