Same-day discharge for left atrial appendage occlusion procedure: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Most patients undergoing a left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) procedure are admitted for overnight observation. A same-day discharge strategy offers the opportunity to improve resource utilization without compromising patient safety. We compared the patient safety outcomes and post-discharge complications between same-day discharge versus hospital admission (HA) (>1 day) in patients undergoing LAAO procedure. METHODS: A systematic search of MEDLINE and Embase was conducted. Outcomes of interest included peri-procedural complications, re-admissions, discharge complications including major bleeding and vascular complications, ischemic stroke, all-cause mortality, and peri-device leak >5 mm. Mantel-Haenszel risk ratios (RRs) with 95% CIs were calculated. RESULTS: A total of seven observational studies met the inclusion criteria. There was no statistically significant difference between same-day discharge versus HA regarding readmission (RR: 0.61; 95% confidence interval [CI]: [0.29-1.31]; p = .21), ischemic stroke after discharge (RR: 1.16; 95% CI: [0.49-2.73]), peri-device leak >5 mm (RR: 1.27; 95% CI: [0.42-3.85], and all-cause mortality (RR: 0.60; 95% CI: [0.36-1.02]). The same-day discharge study group had significantly lower major bleeding or vascular complications (RR: 0.71; 95% CI: [0.54-0.94]). CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis of seven observational studies showed no significant difference in patient safety outcomes and post-discharge complications between same-day discharge versus HA. These findings provide a solid basis to perform a randomized control trial to eliminate any potential confounders.

Safety and feasibility of same-day discharge for catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: Most centers performing catheter ablation (CA) of atrial fibrillation (AF) admit the patients for an overnight hospital stay to monitor for post-procedure complications, but the clinical benefits of this overnight hospital admission policy have not been carefully investigated. We hypothesized that same-day discharge strategy is safe and feasible in patients with AF undergoing CA. METHODS: A systematic review of studies comparing the safety of same-day discharge vs hospital admission for AF patients undergoing CA was conducted in PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science. No randomized controlled trials met the inclusion criteria; therefore, observational cohort studies were included. Mantel-Haenszel risk ratios were calculated and I2 statistics were reported for heterogeneity assessment. RESULTS: A total of 8 observational studies with 10,102 patients were included. There were no statistically significant differences between same-day discharge vs hospital admission in all studied outcomes including post-discharge 30-day hospital visits (RR: 0.90; 95% CI: 0.40-2.02; p = 0.81), post-discharge vascular/bleeding complications (RR: 0.93; 95% CI: 0.46-1.88; p = 0.85), post-discharge stroke/transient ischemic attack/thromboembolism (RR: 0.70; 95% CI: 0.23-2.20; p = 0.55), and post-discharge recurrent arrhythmias (RR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.60-1.09; p = 0.1). CONCLUSION: In carefully selected AF patients undergoing CA, same-day discharge strategy is feasible and safe. There are no significant differences in post-discharge 30-day hospital visits, post-discharge vascular complications, and other safety outcomes. Randomized trials are needed to validate these hypothesis-generating findings.

Statins everyday versus alternate days: Is there a difference in myalgia rates?

OBJECTIVE: Statins are widely used drugs, known to cause myalgia, leading to high discontinuation rates. The objective of our study was to determine the frequency of myalgia in patients on everyday-dose (EDD) regimen with those on alternate-day dose (ADD) regimen. METHODS: This cross sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital of Pakistan. A sample size of 400 patients between the age of 40-70 years, taking simvastatin 40mg for at least 6 months or more were selected. Patients with prior musculoskeletal or neuromuscular complains, and family history of muscular disorders were excluded. Subjects were evaluated for myalgia via a self-administered questionnaire, and those complaining of myalgia were then evaluated for serum vitamin D levels. Data was analyzed through SPSS 16.0 and compared using chi square test. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of myalgia was 7% (28/400). Frequency of myalgia in patients taking simvastatin everyday (n=20, 10%) was significantly higher compared to those taking it every alternate day (n=8, 4%) (p=0.02). There was no significant difference between the time of onset, nature, severity, type, or location of myalgia between the 2 groups. The most common cited triggering factor for pain was physical exercise. Of the patients experiencing myalgia, 13 (6.5%) from the EDD group and 6 (3%) from the ADD group had low levels of vitamin D. CONCLUSIONS: ADD regime was better tolerated by the patients than EDD regime. Alternate day therapy, with or without vitamin D supplementation, may be used by the physicians for troublesome muscular complains.