Causes and Predictors of 30-Day Readmissions in Atrial Fibrillation (from the Nationwide Readmissions Database)

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cause of arrhythmia-related hospitalizations. We assessed 30-day readmissions in patients admitted with AF in a national sample of US population. Data were extracted from Nationwide Readmissions Database for the calendar year 2013. Patients with primary discharge diagnosis of AF were identified by the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification, code 427.31. Patients who died during hospitalization and those <18 years were excluded. Our primary outcome was 30-day readmission rate. Causes and independent predictors of 30-day readmissions were examined. We identified 388,340 patients admitted with AF, of whom 58,634 patients (15.1%) were readmitted within 30 days. Patients who were readmitted tended to be older and have a higher burden of co-morbidities. AF and heart failure were the main causes of 30-day readmissions in our cohort. Advanced age, female gender, and multiple co-morbidities were independently associated with 30-day readmissions. In conclusion, 15% of patients admitted for AF were readmitted within 30 days. More than 1/3 of these readmissions were for AF or heart failure.