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Hawkins et al. Vessel Plus 2022;6:42 https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2574-1209.2021.116 Page 7 of 11

Table 3. Baseline and operative characteristics by POAF status of the matched subgroup of patients not experiencing major
morbidity or mortality

POAF No POAF SMD P-value
(n = 5159) (n = 5159)
Age 69.0 (63.0-75.0) 69.0 (63.0-75.0) 0.01 0.716
BSA 2.09 (1.92-2.27) 2.08 (1.92-2.26) 0.01 0.449
Female 24.3 (1252) 23.7 (1225) 0.01 0.534
Hypertension 88.5 (4568) 88.4 (4562) 0.00 0.853
Diabetes 43.0 (2219) 43.3 (2233) 0.01 0.781
Dialysis dependent renal failure 2.36 (122) 2.73 (141) 0.02 0.235
Prior stroke 7.97 (411) 7.46 (385) 0.02 0.337
Smoker 39.3 (2027) 39.6 (2042) 0.01 0.762
Peripheral arterial disease 13.8 (712) 13.2 (683) 0.02 0.404
Chronic lung disease (moderate/severe) 27.7 (1431) 27.5 (1421) 0.00 0.826
Prior myocardial infarction 44.1 (2274) 43.6 (2248) 0.01 0.606
Heart failure 29.9 (1491) 28.0 (1442) 0.02 0.285
Ejection fraction (%) 55.0 (50.0-60.0) 55.0 (50.0-60.0) 0.01 0.674
Preoperative beta-blocker 86.7 (4466) 86.9 (4484) 0.01 0.601
Prior valve surgery 0.85 (44) 0.81 (42) 0.00 0.828
Prior CABG 2.04 (105) 2.27 (117) 0.02 0.416
Prior cardiac surgery 2.97 (153) 3.22 (166) 0.01 0.460
Urgent or emergent status 52.3 (2696) 51.4 (2652) 0.02 0.386
Intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) 5.41 (279) 4.88 (252) 0.02 0.229
Predicted risk of mortality 1.32 (0.75-2.42) 1.29 (0.76-2.39) 0.00 0.985
Operative characteristics POAF No POAF SMD P-value
(n = 5159) (n = 5159)
Procedure 0.00 0.915
CABG 75.3 (3885) 75.5 (3896)
AVR 14.3 (740) 14.4 (742)
CABG/AVR 10.4 (534) 10.1 (521)
Number of diseased vessels 0.00 0.958
Zero 11.1 (571) 11.0 (566)
One 6.86 (354) 6.65 (343)
Two 18.6 (961) 18.9 (976)
Three 63.4 (3273) 63.5 (3274)
Cross clamp time (min) 71.0 (51.0-91.0) 70.0 (52.0-92.0) 0.01 0.753
Cardiopulmonary bypass time (min) 99.0 (78.0-125) 98.0 (77.0-123) 0.01 0.145

NYHA: New York Heart Association; POAF: postoperative atrial fibrillation; ECMO: extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; AVR: aortic valve
replacement; CABG: coronary artery bypass graft.

Therefore, this study cannot assess the impact of POAF on postoperative complications, although it does
isolate the impact of POAF on resource utilization.

Because of this extensive risk adjustment, the estimates provided in this study are conservative, and fall at
the low end of published literature. For example, an additional 9 h in the ICU and 2 days overall, falls at the
low end of estimates, which range from 12-48 h of ICU time and 2-5 overall days [1,15-18] . Approximately 13%
of readmissions are attributable to atrial fibrillation, yet few studies analyze this outcome in a risk-adjusted
manner . In this study, we found a 33% increase in readmissions, which actually mirrors the unadjusted
[19]
estimates . Finally, our POAF associated cost estimates fall at the low end, which typically ranges from
[15]