| Abstract: |
Cardiac arrythmias are the most frequent postoperative complications affecting up to 20% of patients undergoing thoracic surgery. The most common arrhythmia is postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF), which typically presents on postoperative day (POD) 1 to 5, peaks on POD2, and resolves within 4 to 6 weeks in more than 90% of patients. Despite its transient nature, POAF is associated with increased length of stay, costs, incidence of stroke, morbidity, and mortality. In addition, it presents several vexing clinical problems in the acute perioperative period. Most significantly, POAF can cause hemodynamic instability, and if persistent can put the patient at an increased risk of thromboembolic events. This scenario presents the conundrum of whether and when to initiate anticoagulation in a postoperative patient potentially at increased risk of bleeding. Therefore attempts to prevent POAF may be warranted. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. |
