Patient demographic and clinical characteristics stratified by occurrence of new-onset, clinically important postoperative atrial fibrillation*
| Characteristic | No. (%) of patients without POAF within 30 d after surgery† n = 37 295 | No. (%) of patients with POAF within 30 d after surgery† n = 369 | p value for difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, yr; mean ± SD | 63.4 ± 11.1 | 73.1 ± 10.2 | < 0.001 |
| Female | 18 724 (50.2) | 169 (45.8) | 0.09 |
| Frail‡ | 2052 (5.5) | 36 (9.8) | 0.001 |
| Smoking history | |||
| Current smoker | 20 069 (53.9) | 143 (38.8) | < 0.001 |
| Former smoker | 11 916 (32.0) | 182 (49.3) | |
| Medical history | |||
| Coronary artery disease | 4250 (11.4) | 68 (18.4) | < 0.001 |
| Recent high-risk CAD | 310 (0.8) | 3 (0.8) | > 0.99 |
| Congestive heart failure | 895 (2.4) | 17 (4.6) | 0.02 |
| Aortic stenosis | 283 (0.8) | 10 (2.7) | < 0.001 |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 2759 (7.4) | 44 (11.9) | 0.002 |
| History of CVE | 2134 (5.7) | 38 (10.3) | < 0.001 |
| History of DVT/PE | 1150 (3.1) | 11 (3.0) | > 0.99 |
| Hypertension | 18 197 (48.8) | 247 (66.9) | < 0.001 |
| Diabetes | 7657 (20.5) | 73 (19.8) | 0.8 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 2683 (7.2) | 62 (16.8) | < 0.001 |
| Obstructive sleep apnea | 1743 (4.7) | 18 (4.9) | 0.8 |
| Preoperative medications ≤ 24 h before surgery | |||
| β-blockers | 5386 (14.5) n =37 260 | 71 (19.2) n = 369 | 0.01 |
| Rate-controlling calcium channel blocker | 694 (1.9) n = 37 264 | 12 (3.3) n = 369 | 0.08 |
| Preoperative medications > 24 h to 7 d before surgery | |||
| β-blockers | 6032 (16.2) | 84 (22.8) | 0.001 |
| Rate-controlling calcium-channel blocker | 819 (2.2) | 15 (4.1) | 0.03 |
| Urgent/emergent surgery | 3792 (10.2) | 62 (16.8) | < 0.001 |
| Surgery | |||
| Thoracic surgery | 1053 (2.8) | 35 (9.5) | |
| Major nonthoracic surgery | 22 502 (60.3) | 306 (82.9) | < 0.001 |
| Other surgeries | 13 740 (36.8) | 28 (7.6) | |
| Type of anesthesia | |||
| General anesthesia | 22 961 (61.7) | 187 (50.7) | |
| Regional anesthesia | 10 145 (27.2) | 75 (20.3) | < 0.001 |
| Combined general and regional anesthesia | 4137 (11.1) | 107 (29.0) | |
| Preoperative hemoglobin, g/L | |||
| Mean ± SD | 130.4 ± 19.4 n = 35 978 | 125.8 ± 21.1 n = 364 | |
| Median (IQR) | 132 (120–143) n = 35 978 | 128 (113–140) n = 364 | < 0.001 |
| Preoperative eGFR, mL/min/1.73 m2 | |||
| Mean ± SD | 80.5 ± 24.2 n = 34 696 | 68.6 ± 25.4 n = 361 | |
| Median (IQR) | 84.7 (67.8–97.2) n = 34 696 | 73.3 (52.2–88.3) n = 361 | < 0.001 |
Note: CAD = coronary artery disease, CHF = congestive heart failure, CVE = cerebrovascular events, DVT/PE = deep venous thrombosis/pulmonary embolism, eGFR = estimated glomerular filtration rate, IQR = interquartile range, POAF = postoperative atrial fibrillation, SD = standard deviation.
↵* All outcome definitions are available in Appendix 2. When data are missing, denominators are specified.
↵† Unless specified otherwise.
↵‡ We defined “frail” as a person living in a assisted living facility or who requires assistance with activities of daily living.