Clinical outcomes of Sacubitril/Valsartan in patients with acute heart failure: A multi-institution study

Background: The effectiveness and safety of initiating sacubitril/valsartan therapy among patients who are hospitalized for acute heart failure (HF) is unclear. Methods: A cohort of 3736 patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) hospitalized for acute HF was identified from Chang Gung Research Database between January 1, 2016 and August 31, 2019. The risks of rehospitalization for HF and death associated with sacubitril/valsartan therapy compared to angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) or angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) therapy were evaluated. We used stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighting to balance the baseline covariates. The risks of fatal and non-fatal outcomes between the groups were compared using a Cox proportional hazard model and Fine and Gray subdistribution hazard model, respectively. Findings: The composite of rehospitalization for HF and death occurred in 22.9% of the patients in the sacubitril/valsartan group compared to 32.6% in the ACEI/ARB group (hazard ratio [HR] 0.71, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.52–0.97) after a mean follow-up period of 11.8 months. The sacubitril/valsartan group had a lower risk of rehospitalization for HF (subdistribution HR 0.83, 95% CI 0.74–0.92) and all-cause death (HR 0.51, 95% CI 0.27–0.94). There were no significant differences in the rates of worsening renal function or severe hyperkalemia between the two groups. Interpretation: In real-world practice, initiating sacubitril/valsartan therapy among patients with HFrEF who were hospitalized for acute HF was associated with a lower rate of rehospitalization for HF and death compared with ACEI/ARB therapy. Funding: This study was supported by Novartis Pharmaceuticals.