Does reducing postoperative pericardial effusion prevent postoperative atrial fibrillation in patients after cardiac surgery?
This review highlights emerging evidence that postoperative pericardial effusion and inflammation are key triggers for postoperative atrial fibrillation, offering a potential target for prevention.
Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is the most common complication after cardiac surgery. Patients who develop POAF are more likely to experience adverse outcomes, including increased rates of death, stroke, heart failure, and hospitalizations, and higher hospital costs. Understanding the mechanisms underlying POAF is important to improve patients' outcome and optimize health systems' efficiency. Beyond classic pathogenic hypotheses, emerging evidence suggests that postoperative pericardial effusion and localized pericardial inflammation may trigger POAF. This hypothesis is supported by data from nonhuman animal models and a growing body of evidence showing that reducing postoperative pericardial effusion might reduce POAF incidence. In this review, we summarize the classic pathophysiology theories of POAF following cardiac surgery and discuss new etiologic mechanisms with a specific focus on the role of pericardial effusion and inflammation.
Gaudino et al. (Wed,) studied this question.