Atrial fibrillation increases inpatient and 4-year all-cause mortality in critically ill patients with liver cirrhosis.

Background: The association between atrial fibrillation (AF) and cirrhosis is unclear. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine the association between AF and short-term and 4-year mortality in critically ill patients with cirrhosis using a large database.

Methods: The Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC III) database was used to identify patients with cirrhosis hospitalized in an intensive care unit from 2001 to 2012. Demographic and clinical data were extracted from the database. Clinical data and demographic information were collected for each patient in our study. Kaplan-Meier analysis and multivariate Cox regression models were performed to examine the relation between atrial fibrillation and in-hospital and 4-year all-cause mortality.

Results: A total of 1,481 patients (mean age: 58 years, 68% male) with liver cirrhosis were included in the analysis, and the prevalence of AF was 14.18%. The inpatient all-cause mortality rate was 26.6%, and patients who died in hospital had a significantly higher rate of AF (21.57% . 11.50%, P<0.001). Multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that AF was significantly associated with inpatient all-cause mortality [hazard ratio (HR): 1.52, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.19-1.95, P<0.001], and 4-year all-cause mortality (HR: 1.55, 95% CI: 1.12-2.13, P=0.008). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that patients with AF had a significantly higher inpatient and 4-year all-cause mortality.

Conclusions: Critically ill patients with liver cirrhosis have a high rate of AF, and the presence of AF is an independent risk factor for inpatient and 4-year all-cause mortality.