Contemporary Procedural Complications, Hospitalizations, and Emergency Visits After Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation

Abstract

Contemporary data on complications and resource utilization after atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation are limited. We evaluated rates and risk factors for procedural complication, rehospitalization, and emergency department visits after AF ablation. We identified all adult patients who underwent isolated AF ablation between 2010 and June 2014 in 2 large integrated health-care delivery systems and evaluated rates of acute inpatient complication, 30-day, and 1-year readmission and emergency evaluation. We used multivariable logistic regression to identify predictors of procedural complications, 30-day readmission, or 30-day emergency department evaluation. In 811 AF ablation patients, procedural complications occurred in 2.5% of patients, 9.7% of patients were rehospitalized within 30 days, and 19.1% of patients had an emergency visit within 30 days. At 1 year after AF ablation, 28.9% of patients were readmitted, with 18% of patients readmitted for AF or atrial flutter. At 1 year, 44.5% of patients were seen in an emergency department, with 37.1% related to AF or atrial flutter. Vascular complications and perforation or tamponade were the most common complications, and Hispanic ethnicity, mitral or aortic valvular disease, and diabetes mellitus were the strongest risk factors for adverse outcomes at 30 days after AF ablation. Contemporary rates of acute complication and 1-year readmission after AF ablation have markedly decreased compared with previous community-based studies.

Figure 1

Kaplan-Meier survival plots for survival free from all-cause and atrial arrhythmia (atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter) related hospitalization and emergency visits after atrial fibrillation ablation.