Detection and management of postoperative atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass grafting or non-cardiac surgery: a survey by the AF-SCREEN International Collaboration.

Abstract

We developed a survey to describe current practice on the detection and management of new-onset postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) occurring after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or non-cardiac surgery. We e-mailed an online anonymous questionnaire of 17 multiple choice or rank questions to an international network of healthcare professionals. Between June 2023 and June 2024, 158 participants from 25 countries completed the survey. For CABG patients, 62.7% of respondents reported use of telemetry to detect POAF on the ward until discharge, and 40% reported no dedicated methods for monitoring AF recurrences during follow-up. The largest number (46%) reported prescribing oral anticoagulants (OACs) at discharge if patients were at risk according to CHA₂DS₂-VASc/CHA₂DS₂-VA scores, and the most common duration of OAC therapy was 3 months to 1 year (43%). For non-cardiac surgery patients, POAF detection methods varied, with 29% using periodic 12-lead ECG and 27% using telemetry followed by periodic ECGs. For monitoring AF recurrence, 33% reported planned cardiology visits with ECG. Regarding OAC prescription during follow-up, 51% reported they prescribe OACs only for patients who are at risk of stroke, and 42% prescribe OACs for an interval of 3 months to 1 year. The most commonly reported barrier to OAC prescription was the lack of randomized controlled trial data. For both CABG and non-cardiac surgery, the reported methods for POAF detection and recurrences monitoring were heterogeneous and prescription patterns for OACs varied greatly. The most frequently reported concern about long-term anticoagulation was lack of randomized data, indicating the urgent need for sound studies that inform daily clinical practice.