Risk of thromboembolism in patients developing critical illness-associated atrial fibrillation
Ball, SE; Clayton, B; Read, J; et al.Waddy, S
Date: 1 August 2018
Journal
Clinical Medicine
Publisher
Royal College of Physicians
Publisher DOI
Abstract
Although common, the long-term significance of developing atrial fibrillation (AF) during a period of
critical illness is unclear. We undertook a retrospective cohort analysis to assess the rate of
thromboembolism (TE) in patients developing atrial fibrillation de novo during admission to our
intensive care unit. 1955 patients were ...
Although common, the long-term significance of developing atrial fibrillation (AF) during a period of
critical illness is unclear. We undertook a retrospective cohort analysis to assess the rate of
thromboembolism (TE) in patients developing atrial fibrillation de novo during admission to our
intensive care unit. 1955 patients were followed up (maximum follow-up 1276 days) for the
occurrence of TE, of which 220 (11.3%) had developed AF or atrial flutter during their critical care
admission. There were 11 TE events among the patients with new AF (0.053 events per patientyear),
compared with 18 in the non-AF group (0.0059 events per patient-year). The unadjusted
hazard ratio for TE in patients developing new AF compared with those not developing AF was 8.09
(95% CI 3.08 – 17.19, p<0.001). In patients admitted to critical care, the development of AF appears
to be associated with a significantly increased risk of subsequent thromboembolism.
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