I Registry of Congestive Heart Failure of the State of Sergipe, Brazil: design and rationale

Abstract

Heart Failure (HF) is responsible for a large number of hospitalizations in Brazil. However, there is still a considerable gap in the scrutiny of the public health system (SUS) regarding the quality of care provided. The objective of the present work was to describe the methodology used in the VICTIM-CHF study, which aims to characterize and compare the nutritional, clinical, lifestyle, treatment received, outcomes, as well as the possible disparities observed among patients in Brazil. This was a cross-sectional, descriptive and prospective study carried out with patients with HF admitted to 4 hospitals in Sergipe, Brazil. Clinical, sociodemographic, nutritional, quality of life and outcomes (death and readmission) parameters will be investigated up to 30 days after hospital discharge. The preliminary results of ten volunteers were that 70% were male, and 60% were adults. The most frequent aetiology was ischemic (50%), 50% had HF with preserved ejection fraction (EF) and the remainder with intermediate EF. Malnutrition, according to BMI, was present in 20%, and the hospital stay was significantly (p= 0.036) longer in SUS users. The VICTIM-CHF Registry aims to identify opportunities for improvement in the line of care for HF users of the SUS and the supplementary health system. It is hoped that the findings of this investigation can help to optimize the strategic planning of more efficient and equitable health policies.