1/3 with new-onset POAF experience recurrence within 1 year of cardiac surgery.

This is the largest cardiac surgery patient series with new-onset POAF and ILRs.

Future studies are needed to establish cut-offs of clinically important AF durations.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most common complications after cardiac surgery. New-onset post-operative AF may signal an elevated risk of AF and associated outcomes in long-term follow-up. We aimed to estimate the rate of AF recurrence as detected by an implantable loop recorder (ILR) in patients experiencing post-operative AF within 30 days after cardiac surgery.

We searched MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane CENTRAL to April 2023 for studies of adults who did not have known AF, experienced new-onset AF within 30 days of cardiac surgery and received an ILR. We pooled individual participant data on timing of AF recurrence using a random-effects model with a frailty model applied to a Cox proportional hazard analysis.

From 8671 citations, 8 single-centre prospective cohort studies met eligibility criteria.

Data were available from 185 participants in 7 studies, with a median follow-up of 1.7 (IQR: 1.3–2.8) years. All included studies were at a low risk of bias. Pooled AF recurrence rates following 30 post-operative days were 17.8% (95% CI 11.9%–23.2%) at 3 months, 24.4% (17.7%–30.6%) at 6 months, 30.1% (22.8%–36.7%) at 12 months and 35.3% (27.6%–42.2%) at 18 months.

In patients who experience new-onset post-operative AF after cardiac surgery, AF recurrence lasting at least 30 s occurs in approximately 1 in 3 in the first year after surgery. The optimal frequency and modality to use for monitoring for AF recurrence in this population remain uncertain.

Atrial fibrillation

Cardiac surgery

Electrophysiology

© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.