Right Heart Catheterization/Pulmonary Artery Catheterization Use In Cardiogenic Shock: A Friend Or A Foe? Insights from the Nationwide Readmissions Database

Background: The usefulness of the Right Heart Catherization/Pulmonary Artery Catheterization (RHC/PAC) has been long debated. Previous evidence has shown the lack of additive benefit of RHC/PAC use in various clinical settings. However, current evidence of RHC/PAC utility in the setting of cardiogenic shock (CS) is scarce. Methods: In the Nationwide Readmissions Database (NRD) using International Classification of Diseases, Tenth revision we identified 269,475 patient hospitalizations with cardiogenic shock between 2016-2017. We sought to evaluate the impact of RHC/PAC on in-hospital and readmission outcomes. Results: Approximately 25,840 patients received a RHC/PAC on index admission. The RHC/PAC group had significantly more comorbidities and higher AKI rates (73% vs 60.4%; p