Abstract

Heart failure (HF) is responsible for 1.8 million admissions annually in India with an additional burden of mortality and re-hospitalizations. Positive inotropes with multiple mechanisms like dopamine and levosimendan are being used for more than three decades to treat the patients of acute HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). This study compared the outcomes of the dopamine and the levosimendan up-to 180 days. We have selected the patients from Manipal Heart Failure Registry (MHFR) who were diagnosed to have HFrEF [left ventricular EF less than 50%] and were initiated on either dopamine or levosimendan in first 6 hours of hospitalization. The study included a total of 187 patients; among them, 120 patients were analyzed in the dopamine group and 67 patients in the levosimendan group. Dopamine was initiated as intravenous infusion with the dose of 2.5 microgram/kilogram/minute (mcg/kg/min) and up-titrated up to 10 mcg/kg/min. Levosimendan was also administered intravenously with a dose of 0.1 mcg/kg/min and up-titrated up to 0.4 mcg/kg/min. The primary outcomes include a composite of all-cause mortality and re-hospitalization at 30-days and 180-days follow-ups. The in-hospital mortality, 30-days mortality and 180-days mortality and composite outcomes were noted higher in levosimendan treated patients even after matched demographic parameters (age and gender) and comparable comorbidities and risk factors, i.e., smoking, alcohol consumption, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and atrial fibrillation. However, reduced EF, raised serum creatinine, procalcitonin, and NT-proBNP levels and high use of digoxin were noticed in levosimendan group during the initial period of index-hospitalization and these can be considered as confounding factors for future studies.

Key words: Heart Failure; Inotropes; Mortality; Myocardial contractility; MHFR; Re-hospitalizations