The effect of atrial fibrillation on functional outcomes in stroke patients: A meta-analysis

Backgound: Although previous studies have evaluated the effects of atrial fibrillation (AF) on functional outcomes in stroke patients, due to the few previous studies and subjects included in each study, it is difficult to confirm the effect of AF on functional recovery after stroke. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of AF on functional outcomes in stroke patients. Methods: A systemic literature search was conducted using PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and SCOPUS. We included studies that were published on July 15, 2021, or earlier and satisfied our inclusion criteria. We used the standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) to analyze the changes in functional state changes. The meta-analysis was performed using RevMan v.5.3. Results: Four studies were finally selected for the analysis, and they included 298 AF and 1089 non-AF post-stroke patients. The improvement in the Functional Independence Measure score was higher in the non-AF post-stroke patients than in the AF post-stroke patients (SMD = 0.17, 95% CI = 0.04 to 0.30). Conclusions: AF can affect functional recovery after stroke and minimally undermine functional outcomes.