Abstract
Background: Research has shown mixed results when comparing in-hospital complications following atrial fibrillation ablation in women compared to men. Objectives: To better quantify sex differences and in-hospital outcomes in atrial fibrillation ablation procedures and identify factors associated with poorer outcomes. Methods: We queried the NIS database from 2016-2019 for hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of atrial fibrillation ablation and excluded patients with any other arrhythmias, ICD/pacemaker placement. We assessed demographics, in-hospital mortality, and complications of women compared to men. Outcomes were adjusted for potential confounders using multivariable logistic regression analysis (Figure 1). Results: Admissions for atrial fibrillation were more common in females than males (849,050 versus 815,665; p<0.001). However, females were less likely to receive ablation (1.65% versus 2.71%, OR: 0.60; 95% confidence interval: 0.57-0.64, p<0.001) which persisted after adjusting for cardiomyopathy (adjusted OR: 0.61; 95% confidence interval: 0.58-0.65, p<0.001). The primary outcome of in-hospital mortality was not statistically different in univariate analysis (0.39% vs. 0.36%, OR: 1.09, 95% CI: 0.44-2.72, p=0.84), finding that did not change when adjusted for comorbidities (adjusted OR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.36-2.49) (Figure 1). The total unadjusted complication rate was higher for females than males (9.58% vs. 7.09%, p=0.001); however, it was not significant when adjusted for risks (adjusted OR: 1.23, 95% CI: 0.99-1.53, p=0.06) (Figure 1). Conclusion: Female sex is not associated with increased complications or death in a real-world study of catheter ablation when results are adjusted for risks. However, females admitted with atrial fibrillation receive ablation less often than males during hospital admission. More study is needed regarding to identify factors contribute to later referral for females for catheter ablation.
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