Epidemiologic Burden of Hospitalization for Cardiac Arrhythmias Requiring Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Among Adult Filipinos
Authors: Punzalan Felix Eduardo R , Fadreguilan Erdie C , Mendoza Victor L , Santos April Ann Bermudez-Delos A , Pestaño Noemi S , Gabriel Eden A , Gervacio Giselle G , Agbayani Michael-Joseph M , David Gladys Ruth S , Segundo Luigi Pierre S , De Las Llagas Carlos E , Lagamayo Magdalena J , Tumanan-Mendoza Bernadette A 
Published: July 2024

BACKGROUND: Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) is the therapy of choice in the prevention of  SCD. The ICD has been proven to improve survival among survivors of cardiac arrest, patients who are at risk of having one because of myocardial scarring and low left ventricular ejection fraction, and those with primary inherited arrhythmia syndromes. The insertion of an ICD is indicated for survivors of cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation or hemodynamically unstable sustained ventricular tachycardia after the exclusion of any reversible cause. At present, there are no nationwide data regarding the prevalence of ventricular tachyarrhythmias requiring an ICD. 

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the (1) total hospitalization claims per year (2017 and 2018) for arrhythmias requiring an ICD, (2) total number of cardioverter-defibrillator insertions done for patients mentioned in (1), (3) prevalence of hospitalization for cardiac arrhythmias requiring insertion of ICD among patients admitted for medical conditions for 2017 and 2018, (4) the demographic profile of patients who were hospitalized for cardiac arrhythmias requiring insertion of ICD, (5) type of facilities (primary, secondary, or tertiary; government or private) where the patients were confined, and (6) duration of hospitalization and mortality rate of patients admitted for the above conditions. 

METHODS: This is a descriptive study using the database of Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) on hospital claims of admitted patients 19 years or older in PhilHealth-accredited hospitals from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2018. Anonymized records were reviewed using the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) of the World Health Organization. The codes relevant to the study question were chosen and used. The PhilHealth Relative Value Scale (RVS) codes were used to determine the procedures that the patients underwent for their cardiac arrhythmias. Patients’ demographic profile, diagnosis, region, hospitalization stay and status on discharge, and type of facility of admission were collected. Descriptive statistics using median value and interquartile range for quantitative data and frequency and percentage for categorical data were reported.  

RESULTS: In 2017 and 2018, among patients 19 years or older, there were 1282 and 1480 claims of  cases of cardiac arrhythmias requiring an ICD (based on ICD-10 codes), whereas those who underwent  placement of an ICD (based on RVS codes) numbered 50 and 45, respectively. The prevalence of  hospitalization for cardiac arrhythmias related to ICD among patients who were admitted for medical  conditions was 0.05% and 0.06%, for the same years. The overall in-hospital mortality rates were 10.84%  and 9.46% in each year for those who were admitted for cardiac arrhythmias that required an ICD;  however, there were no recorded mortalities for those who underwent implantation of a cardioverter defibrillator. For patients with arrhythmias requiring an ICD (based on ICD-10 and RVS codes), the median  (first quartile [Q1], third quartile [Q3]) age was 59 (43, 72) years. In 2018, the median (Q1, Q3) age was  57 (38, 71) years. There were similar proportions of males (53%) and females (47%) in both years. The  majority of cases based on ICD-10 codes of cardiac arrhythmias requiring an ICD were confined in  government hospitals, whereas most of the claims for procedures based on RVS codes were in private  hospitals. Most of the procedures were done in the National Capital Region. The duration of hospitalization  was 3 to 4 days. 

CONCLUSION: Based on PhilHealth claims, the admission due to cardiac arrhythmias requiring ICD is  common in both private and government hospitals. Cardioverter-defibrillator implantation is being done  mostly in the National Capital Region and private hospitals. There is a wide gap between the prevalence of  cardiac arrhythmias requiring an ICD and the frequency of implantation of the lifesaving device. 

KEYWORDS: implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, sudden cardiac death, Brugada syndrome, PhilHealth