Thromboembolic and haemorrhagic events in permanent atrial fibrillation: observational study in an emergency department.
BACKGROUND
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in patients admitted to Emergency Departments. However, the management of permanent AF in order to prevent thromboembolism in clinical practice is still widely discussed. We aimed to evaluate this management and the occurrence of clinical events in a cohort of patients with permanent AF admitted to our Emergency Department.


METHODS
We enrolled in this observational study 582 patients with permanent AF consecutively seen in our Emergency Room.


RESULTS
Mean age was 80.1 +/- 9.6 years. Two or more comorbidities were present in 67% of patients. 28% of patients were treated with oral anticoagulant therapy (OT) at the time of admission to the Emergency Department, 34.2% with anti-platelet therapy (APT), while 37.8% were taking no anti-thrombotic therapy. There was no correspondence between three observed groups of treatment and the risk stratification according to CHADS2. In the groups of patients at high or intermediate risk a higher number of ischemic stroke was observed in patients taking APT than in OT patients (16.1% vs 31.5%, p=0.001). A low frequency of total and cerebral haemorrhagic events was observed in all groups. Only the non severe bleeds were significantly more frequent in patients on OT.


CONCLUSIONS
OT is well-tolerated even in elderly patients, with a low rate of haemorrhagic events. In clinical practice OT is underused, in particular in older patients, in spite of a high number of thrombotic events.
Rovellini
Angelo
A
Emergency Division, IRCCS Fondazione Policlinico, Mangiagalli e Regina Elena, Milano, Italy.
Folli
Christian
C
Cardani
Francesca
F
Monzani
Valter
V
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000150:complications*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D020521:Stroke / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D013923:Thromboembolism / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control
D000925:Anticoagulants; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors