Abstract 17173: Association of Acute Gout Flares and Colchicine Use With Clinical Outcomes During Admission for Acute Decompensated Heart Failure

Introduction: Gout is a common comorbidity in heart failure (HF) patients, and is often exacerbated by diuretic use. The impact of gout or the treatment of gout on HF outcomes is unknown. The purpose of this study was to assess clinical outcomes in patients being treated for an acute HF exacerbation and receiving colchicine for an acute gout flare. Methods: This was a single center, retrospective cohort study of patients treated for an acute HF exacerbation from March 2011 to February 2020. The gout group included patients receiving colchicine for an acute gout flare during admission. The control group included those who did not receive colchicine for an acute gout flare. The primary outcome was 30-day readmission rate. Secondary outcomes included in-hospital mortality and length of stay. Results: In the cohort of 1,047 patients (68.8 +/- 13.7 years, 38% female), 237 patients received colchicine for acute gout during admission. Length of stay was significantly greater (9.93 days vs. 7.96 days, p < 0.0001) and in-hospital mortality was significantly lower (2.2% vs. 6.6%, p = 0.009) in patients with versus without gout. In a multivariate logistic regression model, in-hospital colchicine given for a gout flare was significantly associated with reduced in-hospital mortality (OR 0.322, 95% CI 0.105-0.779, p = 0.02) after adjustment for home beta blocker use, inotrope use, age, and diabetes mellitus (p < 0.05 for all in the model). The association between colchicine and survival to hospital discharge was only observed in patients who received colchicine during the hospitalization, as opposed to home use only. There was no significant difference in 30-day readmission rate based on gout status for patients surviving to hospital discharge (21.5% vs. 19.5%, p = 0.495). Conclusions: Among patients with an acute HF exacerbation, patients treated for an acute gout flare with colchicine had a greater length of stay and lower in-hospital mortality compared with those not having gout. Future analyses are warranted to identify the relationship between colchicine use and HF outcomes.