Postoperative atrial fibrillation is less frequent in pulmonary segmentectomy compared with lobectomy.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to elucidate the characteristics and predictors of postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) from the standpoint of surgical mode. Retrospective analysis was carried out on 607 patients who underwent lobectomy or segmentectomy for clinical stage IA lung cancer. We investigated the clinical factors to determine the predictors of the development of POAF. Of the 607 patients, 443 underwent lobectomy, and 164 underwent segmentectomy. POAF developed in 37 patients. Of these, 34 (7.7%) were in the lobectomy group, and 3 (1.8%) in the segmentectomy group. In the univariate analysis for predictors of POAF, age (p < 0.01), history of ischemic heart disease (p = 0.03), FEV1.0% (p < 0.01) and surgical mode (p = 0.01) showed significant differences between the groups. The multivariate analysis revealed that increasing age (p < 0.01, HR 1.059, CI 1.015-1.106), surgical mode (p = 0.02, HR 5.734, CI 1.350-24.361) and FEV1.0% < 70% (p = 0.03, HR 2.182, CI 1.067-4.461) were independent predictors of POAF. POAF was significantly less following segmentectomy compared with lobectomy.