Assessment of Anticoagulant Initiation in Patients With New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation During Emergency Department Visit

Abstract

Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) have an increased risk of stroke and systemic thromboembolism. Diagnosis of AF is commonly encountered in the emergency department (ED). The purpose of this study was to assess the number of patients with new-onset AF appropriately initiated on oral anticoagulation (AC) during their ED encounter. This retrospective analysis included patients discharged from the ED from July 2016 to July 2021 with a new diagnosis of AF. Patients were excluded if they were on AC before admission. The major endpoint was to identify the percentage of patients discharged from the ED without initiating AC. Minor endpoints included the average CHA2DS2-VASc scores and the reason for not initiating AC. A total of 380 patients were included in the final analysis. Of the 245 patients found to be indicated for AC, only 131 patients (53.5%) were initiated on AC and 114 patients (46.5%) were discharged without initiating AC. Almost half of the patients who presented to the ED with a new diagnosis of AF and indicated for AC were discharged without AC.