Clinical outcome of patients who develop PAF after CABG surgery.
This was a retrospective analysis of patients who had CABG surgery at our hospital over a 12-month period to determine the intermediate-term prognosis of those who had developed PAF after their operation before hospital discharge. Of 317 patients who were operated by a single surgical group, 116 (37%) had AF postoperatively of whom 112 had the paroxysmal form. Of these, 36 were treated with class I or III antiarrhythmic drugs and rate control drugs (group 1) and 76 were treated with rate control alone (group 2). Group 3 consisted of 151 randomly selected patients who did not have AF. All patients were reevaluated at 6 weeks to determine their rhythm and clinical status. Only one patient each in groups 1 and 2 was in AF 6 weeks after discharge. There was a trend toward a higher mortality and morbidity in group 2 patients. PAF after coronary surgery appears to be a self-limited disease process. In this cohort of patients, the rate of recurrence of AF after discharge was similar in patients receiving class I or class III antiarrhythmic drugs together with rate control agents compared to those receiving rate control drugs alone.
Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Lankenau Hospital and Medical Research Center, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, USA. prkowey@pol.net
P R
PR
Kowey
D
D
Stebbins
L
L
Igidbashian
S M
SM
Goldman
F P
FP
Sutter
S J
SJ
Rials
R A
RA
Marinchak
D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000368:Aged; D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D004077:Digoxin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009017:Morbidity; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011379:Prognosis; D011897:Random Allocation; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors
D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists; D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D004077:Digoxin