One year outcomes of atrial fibrillation ablation: Contemporary analysis of the United States Nationwide Readmission Database.

BACKGROUND: Data on long-term outcomes of catheter ablation (CA) for atrial fibrillation (AF) in outside of clinical trials settings are sparse. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to assess outcomes and readmissions at 1 year following admission for CA for AF. METHODS: Utilizing the Nationwide Readmissions Database (2016-2018), we identified patients with CA among all patients with a primary admission diagnosis of AF, and a control group by propensity score match adjusted for age, sex, comorbidities, CHA2DS2-VASc scores, and the hospital characteristics. The primary outcome was a composite of unplanned heart failure (HF), AF and stroke-related readmissions, and death at 1 year, and secondary outcomes were hospital outcomes and all-cause readmission rates. RESULTS: The study cohort consisted of 29,771 patients undergoing CA and 63,988 controls. Patients undergoing CA were younger with lower CHA2DS2-VASc scores and less comorbidities. Over a follow-up of 170 ±1.1 days, the primary outcome occurred in 5.2% in CA group and 6.0% of controls (hazard ratio [HR] and 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.86 [0.76-0.94], p = .002). CA affected AF and stroke related readmission, but showed no effect on HF and mortality outcome. Male sex (HR: 0.83 [0.74-0.94], p = .03), younger age (HR: 0.71 [0.61-0.83], p < .001], and lower CHA2DS2-VASc scores (HR: 0.68 [0.55-0.84], p < .001) were associated with lower risk of primary outcome with CA. CONCLUSION: In this study, CA for AF was associated with significantly lower AF and stroke-related admissions, but not to HF or all-cause readmission. Better outcomes were seen among males, younger patients, and in patients with less comorbidities and low CHA2DS2-VASc scores.

Safety and complications of catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation: Predictors of complications from an updated analysis the National Inpatient Database.

BACKGROUND: Catheter ablation is increasingly employed in the management of atrial fibrillation (AF). Data regarding safety of ablation of AF is largely derived from controlled clinical trials. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to analyze safety and complications of AF ablation performed in a "real world" setting outside of clinical trials, and obtain insights on predictors of complications. METHODS: We utilized the National Inpatient Sample database, to identify all patients who underwent AF ablations between 2015 and 2017 using International Classification of Disease-Tenth revision codes. Complications were defined as per the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality Guidelines. Statistical tests including multivariate logistic regression were performed to determine predictors of complications. RESULTS: Among 14,875 cases of AF ablation between 2015 and 2017, a total of 1884 complications were identified among 1080 (7.2%) patients. Patients with complications were likely to be older and female with a higher burden of comorbidities. A 27% increase in complications was observed from 2015 to 2017, driven by an increase in pericardial complications. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that pulmonary hypertension (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.99, p = .041) and chronic kidney disease (CKD; aOR: 1.67, p = .024), were independent predictors of complications. Centers with higher procedural volumes were associated with lower complication rates. CONCLUSIONS: Complication rates related to AF ablations remain substantially high. Presence of pulmonary hypertension and CKD are predictive of higher procedural complications. Furthermore, hospital procedure volume is an important factor that correlates with complication rates.

Temporal Trends in Characteristics and Outcomes Associated With In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A 20-Year Analysis (1999-2018).

Background Despite advances in resuscitation medicine, the burden of in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) remains substantial. The impact of these advances and changes in resuscitation guidelines on IHCA survival remains poorly defined. To better characterize evolving patient characteristics and temporal trends in the nature and outcomes of IHCA, we undertook a 20-year analysis of a national database. Methods and Results We analyzed the National Inpatient Sample (1999-2018) using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision and Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM) codes to identify all adult patients suffering IHCA. Subgroup analysis was performed based on the type of cardiac arrest (ie, ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation or pulseless electrical activity-asystole). An age- and sex-adjusted model and a multivariable risk-adjusted model were used to adjust for potential confounders. Over the 20-year study period, a steady increase in rates of IHCA was observed, predominantly driven by pulseless electrical activity-asystole arrest. Overall, survival rates increased by over 10% after adjusting for risk factors. In recent years (2014-2018), a similar trend toward improved survival is noted, though this only achieved statistical significance in the pulseless electrical activity-asystole cohort. Conclusions Though the ideal quality metric in IHCA is meaningful neurological recovery, survival is the first step toward this. As overall IHCA rates rise, overall survival rates are improving in tandem. However, in more recent years, these improvements have plateaued, especially in the realm of ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation-related survival. Future work is needed to better identify characteristics of IHCA nonsurvivors to improve resource allocation and health care policy in this area.