CHA₂DS₂-VASc Score and In-Hospital Mortality in Critically Ill Patients With New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation

Objective: To examine the role of the CHA₂DS₂-VASc (Congestive heart failure; Hypertension; Age ≥75 years [doubled]; Diabetes; previous Stroke, transient ischemic attack, or thromboembolism [doubled]; Vascular disease; Age 65-75 years; and Sex category) score as a prognostic marker of in-hospital mortality in critically ill patients who develop new-onset atrial fibrillation (NOAF). Design: Retrospective analyses. Setting: A single-center study in a tertiary care academic medical center. Participants: The study comprised all adult patients with NOAF admitted to noncardiac intensive care units (ICUs) at a tertiary care academic institution between January 2009 and March 2016. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: The authors retrospectively reviewed electronic medical records of all adult patients admitted to noncardiac ICUs at a tertiary care academic institution between January 2009 and March 2016. Patients with NOAF were identified and their CHA₂DS₂-VASc score was calculated. The authors evaluated the association of CHA₂DS₂-VASc score and its individual components with in-hospital mortality in these patients. A total of 640 (1.7% [38,708 patients]; 95% CI 1.5%-1.8%) patients developed NOAF during the study period. The in-hospital mortality rate in patients included in the analysis was 14.3%. There was no association between in-hospital mortality and CHA₂DS₂VASc score. However, the likelihood of in-hospital death was 1.56 times greater for patients having atrial fibrillation and concomitant vascular disease (95% CI 1.003-2.429; p = 0.049). Conclusions: New-onset atrial fibrillation is common in critically ill patients and is associated with high in-hospital mortality. The authors found that the CHA₂DS₂-VASc score itself is not a reliable prognostic marker of in-hospital mortality in these patients. However, the presence of vascular disease in patients with NOAF may increase the mortality associated with this disease.