Showing Latest Articles
Statin use and postoperative atrial fibrillation after major noncardiac surgery
Heart Rhythm, 01/30/2012
Clinical Article
Bhave PD et al. – Treatment with statin agents appears to be associated with a lower risk for clinically significant postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) following major noncardiac surgery.
Methods- A retrospective cohort study of patients aged 18 years or older who underwent major noncardiac surgery between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2008.
- Cases of clinically significant POAF were selected by using a combination of International Classification of Diseases–9 codes and clinical variables.
- Authors defined statin users as those whose pharmacy data included a charge for a statin drug on the day of surgery, the day after surgery, or both.
- Of 370,447 patients, 10,957 (3.0%) developed clinically significant POAF; overall, 79,871 (21.6%) received a perioperative statin.
- Patients receiving statins were generally older (68.8 vs 61.1 years; P <.001) and more likely to be receiving a beta–blocker (50.3% vs 21.6%; P < .001).
- Statin use was associated with a lower unadjusted rate of POAF (2.6% vs 3.0%; P < .001).
- After adjustment for patient risk factors and surgery type, odds for POAF remained significantly lower among statin–treated patients (adjusted odds ratio = 0.79; 95% confidence interval = 0.71–0.87; P < .001).
- Statin use was not associated with differences in cost, length of stay, or mortality among patients who developed POAF.
