Association between deep learning–based atrial fibrillation burden and in-hospital mortality

Despite its clinical significance, research on atrial fibrillation (AF) burden as a dynamic, real-time predictor of adverse outcomes in patients with critical illness is lacking. This study examined the association between high AF burden and in-hospital mortality in critically ill patients, using intensive care unit (ICU) data from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC-III; 2001–2012) and Yongin Severance Hospital (2021–2023). Electrocardiogram waveform data were analyzed using deep learning models to calculate AF burden. Adult ICU patients were included, with exclusion of those aged ≥90 years and those with an AF burden >0.9. AF burden was defined as the ratio of AF waveforms to total waveforms during ICU admission, with a high burden defined as ≥7.0%. Logistic regression and machine learning models were employed to assess the association between AF burden and in-hospital mortality, as well as to evaluate the contribution of AF burden to mortality prediction. From the MIMIC-III database, 7,734 patients were included: 5,734 (74.1%) had a low AF burden (median, 0.3%) and 2,000 (25.9%) had a high AF burden (median, 22.5%). High AF burden was associated with significantly higher in-hospital mortality (18.1% vs. 8.6%, P < 0.001) and was identified as an independent risk factor (adjusted odds ratio, 1.63; 95% confidence interval, 1.36–1.95; P < 0.001). Machine learning models demonstrated that AF burden is a significant contributor to mortality prediction, with an area under the curve of 0.86. AF burden may serve as a dynamic marker for real-time alerts of clinical deterioration and for risk stratification in critically ill patients.