Abstract
We examined the association between symptoms (ie, dyspnea and pain) and patient outcomes (ie, length of stay, 30-day readmission, and death in hospital) among patients with heart failure using EMRs. This was a descriptive study that was conducted from July 1, 2014, to November 30, 2017. Participants were 754 hospitalized patients with heart failure (mean age, 70.62 +/- 14.78 years; male-to-female ratio, 1:1.1). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, [chi]2 tests, and logistic regression analyses. Patients' average length of stay was 8.92 +/- 13.12 days. Thirty-two patients (4.2%) were readmitted, and 100 patients (13.3%) died during hospitalization. Two-thirds (67.7%) experienced dyspnea, and 367 (48.7%) experienced pain. Symptoms and ICU admission were significantly related to patient outcomes. In the regression analyses, dyspnea, pain, and ICU admission were significantly related to higher-than-average lengths of stay. Dyspnea and ICU admission were related to death in hospital. Information regarding patients' symptoms, which was extracted from records, was a valuable resource in examining the relationship between symptoms and patient outcomes. The use of EMRs may be more advantageous than self-reported surveys when examining patients' symptom and utilizing big data.