Healthcare Utilization for Premature Ventricular Complexes in Acute Settings

BackgroundPremature ventricular contractions (PVCs) are common, yet their burden in acute healthcare settings is not well characterized.In parallel, therapies, particularly catheter ablation, have evolved, but contemporary trends in utilization remain unclear. ObjectiveTo evaluate the trends in healthcare utilization for PVCs. MethodsWe conducted an analysis of California statewide healthcare data from 2016 to 2022, including adults aged 18 years seen in an ambulatory surgery unit, emergency department, or inpatient hospital.PVCs and comorbidities were identified using ICD-10-CM codes as primary or secondary diagnoses, and catheter ablation using ICD-10-PCS and CPT codes. ResultsAmong 87,819,413 healthcare encounters from 20,280,466 adults, 235,848 (0.27%) included a PVC diagnosis and 22,806 (0.03%) had PVCs as a primary diagnosis.Patients with PVCs were older, more often male and White, and had more cardiovascular comorbidities.The proportion of encounters with PVCs increased from 0.19% in 2016 to 0.31% in 2022.Encounters with PVCs as the primary diagnosis rose from 0.023% to 0.029%.Between 2016 and 2022, 3,394 catheter ablations for PVCs were performed, nearly doubling from 343 in 2016 to 619 in 2022.Of the 21,265 patients who had at least one principal diagnosis of PVCs, 3,278 (15.4%) underwent catheter ablation for PVCs.Ablation recipients were older, predominantly male and White, and had greater cardiovascular comorbidity.J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f Conclusions PVCs, though infrequently coded as a primary diagnosis, are increasingly recognized in acute healthcare settings.The doubling of ablation procedures underscores growing clinical attention and the expanding role of interventional management, particularly among high-risk patients.