In-Hospital Outcomes and Complications of Catheter Ablation and Pacemaker Placement in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Background

Catheter ablation (CA) and pacemaker implantation (PPM) for atrial fibrillation (AF) are associated with several post-procedural complications in the adult population. There is limited data available on types of complications associated with these procedures.

Methods

National Inpatient Sample 2016-2019 was used to identify AF patients that underwent CA and PPM using appropriate ICD codes. These patients were divided into two groups: with and without complications. Logistic regression was used to compare in-hospital outcomes.

Results

Of the total 352,205 AF patients who underwent CA and PPM procedures, 15,710 (4.4%) had post-procedural complications. Group with complications were more likely to be younger (72-vs-74 years, p=0.008) and more often in females (54-vs-53%, p=0.004). The trend of complications is shown in figure below. Acute pericarditis/pericardial effusion/cardiac tamponade had increasing trend in recent years (p<0.001). Compared to AF patients who underwent CA and PPM placement without any complications, those with complications had higher mean LOS (10.3-vs-6 days, p<0.001), mean total cost ($234,043-vs-142,843, p<0.001), and in-hospital mortality (3.7-vs-1.2%, p<0.001).

Conclusion

AF patients treated with CA and PPM with post-procedural complications had higher in-hospital mortality, mean LOS, and total hospital costs. Temporal trends from 2016-2019 also indicate an increasing trend of pericardial complications following these procedures.

First Page

208

DOI

10.1016/S0735-1097(23)00652-6

Publication Date

3-7-2023

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