Abstract

Objective: To determine the correlation of Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) with the length of stay (LOS) and development of complications in patients of heart failure (HF) during hospital admission.
Methodology: It was a retrospective cohort study conducted at Shifa International Hospital Islamabad from 1st June 2018 to 30th April 2019. Records of selected HF patients were retrieved to obtain data regarding demographics, comorbid conditions, LOS and development of complications during their admissions. Linear regression and ordinal regression model were used to find the correlation of CCI with the LOS and in-hospital (IH) complications.
Results: A total 475 patients were included in the study; 296 were male and 179 females. Age ranged from 9 to 91 years (mean 67.93±15.37). CCI ranged from 0 to 14 with a mean of 0.947. Total LOS ranged from 0 to 52 days with a mean of 5 days. 212 (44.6%) patients did not develop any complications. Pearsons ‘correlation and regression coefficient found that linear association did not exist between CCI and LOS. P-value of Pearson’s goodness of fit was also not significant between CCI and IH complications.
Conclusion: CCI of HF patients are not correlated with the total LOS and development of IH complications.

Key words: CCI, length of hospital stay, in hospital complications, heart failure.