Abstract:Objective To explore the application and value of heart failure echocardiography index(HFEI) in guiding the timing of ultrafiltration therapy for patients with chronic heart failure(CHF). Methods A retrospective study was performed on 31 patients with CHF who were hospitalized with ultrafiltration treatment in the First People′s Hospital of Chuzhou from December 2015 to December 2016.Based on the range of discount in N-terminal B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP)after ultrafiltration treatment,patients were divided into a high-efficiency group (NT-proBNP reduction ≥30%) and a low-efficiency group (NT-proBNP reduction <30%).The receiver operating curve (ROC) was drawn to determine the best cut-off value of the HFEI in guiding the timing of ultrafiltration treatment in patients with CHF and its judgment efficiency. Results Of the 31 patients,13 were in the high-efficiency group and 18 were in the low-efficiency group.The HFEI of the high-efficiency group was lower than that of the low-efficiency group(3.69±0.85 vs 5.83±1.29),the total time of ultrafiltration and hospital stay was shorter than those of the low-efficiency group,the hospitalization cost was less than that of the low-efficiency group,the difference was statistically significant (all P<0.01).There was no statistical difference in the rolume of ultrafiltration fluid between the two groups (P>0.05).When the HFEI was 4.5 as the cut-off value,the sensitivity for judging the timing of ultrafitration was 88.9% and the specificity was 76.9%. ConclusionThe HFEI can be used as a judgment indicator for "early" ultrafiltration therapy for patients with CHF.