Atrial fibrillation in renal or liver transplant recipients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients undergoing renal (RT) or liver transplantation (LT) has increased during the last decades. Yet, there is still uncertainty on the association between AF and patient and graft survival.

Multiple electronic databases were searched using various combinations of keywords and MeSH terms pertinent to the exposure (AF), and outcomes (graft and patient survival). Randomized or quasi-randomized controlled studies, cohort and case-control studies on adults with documented AF undergoing RT or LT were included. The quality of studies was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Assessment Scale. When appropriate, data on the primary and secondary outcomes were pooled in a meta-analysis using the random-effect model. The Odds ratio was used for patients undergoing LT and the hazard ratio was used for patients who underwent renal transplantation.

A total of 50,362 publications were identified. Six studies, with a total of 136,331 patients, satisfied the inclusion criteria. LT was performed on 2861 patients and RT was performed on 133,470 recipients. Overall, AF affected 6652 (4.8%) transplant recipients. Among them, 153 received a LT and 6499 underwent RT. The OR for mortality after LT was 2.375 (95% CI; 1.532-3.682) (P = 0.000) in AF(+) recipients and the HR was 1.859 (95% CI; 1.031-3.354) (P = 0.039) after RT. The OR for graft loss in AF(+) after LT r was 1.088 (95% CI; 0.311-3.804) (P = 0.894) and the HR for graft loss was 1.632 (95% CI; 1.200-2.218) (P = 0.002) after RT.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the association between AF and patient and graft survival after RT or LT. Our findings suggest that the presence of AF is associated with inferior patient survival. For renal transplant recipients, AF is also associated with inferior graft survival.