OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the overall incidence and predictors of atrial fibrillation and flutter (AFF) following CABG, as well as the influence of these arrhythmia on the hospital length of stay. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Two hundred and seventy-five patients, who had undergone coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery at the Beneficência Portuguesa Hospital in São Paulo, had their data collected and analyzed. The age range was from 26 to 83 years old with mean age of 58.7 and standard deviation of 9.5 years. One hundred and ninety six patients (71.3%) were male. RESULTS: The outcomes of this analysis were: the overall incidence of postoperative AFF was 16.4%, with the peak rate in the second and third postoperative days. Advanced age (p < 0.0001; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3, 140 to 9.046 ); male sex (p = 0.0126; odds ratio [OR], 3.022; relative risk = 2.380; 95% CI 1.103 to 5,135) and a history of AFF (p = 0.0235, OR = 15.54, relative risk = 1.023, 95% CI 0.6225 to 387.9) were identified as independent predictors of postoperative AFF. Those patients with postoperative AFF remained an average of 36 hours longer in the intensive care unit and 4.8 days longer in the ward when compared with patients without AFF. CONCLUSIONS: The AFF are very common arrhythmia after CABG and have a significant effect on both intensive care unit and overall hospital length of stay.
Atrial fibrillation; Atrial flutter; Myocardial revascularization; Atrial fibrillation; Atrial flutter; Myocardial revascularization
