Impact of Socioeconomic Status on Mechanical Circulatory Device Utilization and Outcomes in Cardiogenic Shock

Objectives: This study evaluates the impact of socioeconomic status (SES) on utilization of mechanical circulatory support (MCS) devices and outcomes in cardiogenic shock (CS).

Background: CS is associated with significant mortality. There is increasing use of temporary MCS devices in CS, and its impact on outcomes is currently under investigation. There is a lack of data on the effect of SES on the utilization of MCS devices in CS.

Methods: CS hospitalizations were obtained from the State Inpatient Databases in 2016 from 9 states representing various regions in the United States. The study had exempt institutional review board status as the database includes deidentified data. Hospitalizations were separated into SES cohorts based on the median household income of the patient residence zip code. Utilization of MCS devices and revascularization procedures along with clinical outcomes with CS were compared across the quartiles.

Results: There were 38,520 hospitalizations identified with CS, 42.6% of which were secondary to acute myocardial infarction. Patients from higher SES areas were significantly older but had lower burden of comorbidities. Utilization of temporary MCS devices was higher for hospitalizations from higher SES regions (frequency from the lowest SES quartile to the highest SES quartile: 21.3%, 21.5%, 23.5, and 24.1%, P < .01), though revascularization rates were similar. However, there was no significant difference in overall mortality from CS among the 4 quartiles. Patients from regions of higher SES experienced increased hospital costs.

Conclusions: Higher SES regions had increased use of temporary MCS. There was no difference in mortality between SES cohorts.