Safety of emergency-department electric cardioversion for recent-onset atrial fibrillation

Objective. To analyze the safety of electric cardioversion performed for recent-onset atrial fibrillation in a hospital emergency department. Methods. Observational retrospective analysis of consecutive emergency department cases of atrial fibrillation of less than 48 hours' duration in hemodyn...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Carbajosa Dalmau, José, Martín, Alfonso, Paredes-Arquiola, Laura, Jacob, Javier, Coll-Vinent i Puig, Blanca, Llorens, Pere
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2019
Country:España
Institution:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repository:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:2445/185729
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/185729
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Fibril·lació auricular
Serveis d'urgències hospitalàries
Malalties cardiovasculars
Atrial fibrillation
Hospital emergency services
Cardiovascular diseases
Description
Summary:Objective. To analyze the safety of electric cardioversion performed for recent-onset atrial fibrillation in a hospital emergency department. Methods. Observational retrospective analysis of consecutive emergency department cases of atrial fibrillation of less than 48 hours' duration in hemodynamically stable patients. All included cases were either treated with emergency electric cardioversion or referred for evaluation and scheduling of outpatient cardioversion. The outcome variable was the occurrence of a thromboembolic or hemorrhagic event within 90 days. Results. A total of 718 cardioversions in 570 patients were analyzed. The mean (SD) age of the patients was 64 (13.5) years. Four hundred seventy-nine emergency cardioversions (66.7%) and 239 (33.3%) scheduled cardioversions were performed. Eleven adverse events (1.5% of the cohort) occurred: 2 were thromboembolic events (0.3%) and 9 were hemorrhagic (1.3%). All bleeds were minor. There were no statistically significant differences in the rate of adverse events between the emergency and scheduled cardioversion groups.