Three million hospitalisations analysed to document the lasting impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
A recent nationwide study examined trends in hospitalisations for acute heart failure (AHF) in France between 2013 and 2024 using data from the French National Health Data System (SNDS). In total, nearly three million hospitalisations were analysed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospital care and in-hospital mortality.
By comparing observed data from 2020 to 2024 with expected trends derived from the pre-pandemic period (2013–2019), the study identified a substantial and persistent decline in hospital admissions for AHF. Over the 2020–2024 period, more than 222,000 fewer hospitalisations were estimated, corresponding to a 16% decrease compared with expected trends.
At the same time, an increase in in-hospital mortality was observed, with approximately 7,800 excess deaths during the same period (+8.4%). The findings also suggest a greater impact among women.
Beyond these clinical findings, the study highlights the major value of large medico-administrative databases for documenting the long-term effects of health crises on healthcare systems. Thanks to the exhaustiveness and longitudinal coverage of the SNDS, it becomes possible to analyse changes in healthcare use, hospitalisations and health outcomes at a population level.
Overall, these results emphasise the key role of real-world data in understanding the lasting consequences of the pandemic and in supporting evidence-based public health strategies to better prepare healthcare systems for future crises.