Pharmacotherapy
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Outcomes associated with vasoactive therapy in patients with acute decompensated heart failure.
To describe the clinical management of acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) in patients receiving intravenous treatment with dobutamine, milrinone, or nesiritide, and to evaluate differences, based on treatment received, in the in-hospital mortality rate, length of stay (LOS), total health care costs, and 30-day hospital readmission rate. ⋯ Nesiritide therapy was associated with a lower in-hospital mortality rate and shorter LOS compared with dobutamine and milrinone. In addition, total health care costs with nesiritide were decreased compared with milrinone. These observations need to be validated by a randomized controlled trial.