Atrial Fibrillation Pathway Visual Abstract

CJEM Visual Abstract: Implementing an atrial fibrillation pathway

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In this issue, we collaborated with the CJEM team to create a visual abstract on the article: “Implementation of an emergency department atrial fibrillation and flutter pathway improves rates of appropriate anticoagulation, reduces length of stay and thirty-day revisit rates for congestive heart failure.”1

Atrial fibrillation and flutter are arrhythmias that come with significant morbidity and mortality2. Barbic et al. examined the effects of implementing an atrial fibrillation and flutter pathway on patient at two university-affiliated urban sites.1 Their primary outcome was the proportion of patients who were correctly started on new anticoagulant medications by the treating emergency physician over an eight month period.

The results are highlighted in our visual abstract. The rates of new anticoagulation on discharge from the emergency department were improved from 48.6% to 70.2%. Median length of stay in the department was also decreased from 262 to 218 minutes. There was also a decreased rate of emergency department revisits for CHF from 13.2% to 2.3%. The authors conclude that AF pathways can reduce system resource utilization and improve patient-oriented outcomes.

A PDF version of the visual abstract is available here.

References

1.
Barbic D, DeWitt C, Harris D, et al. Implementation of an emergency department atrial fibrillation and flutter pathway improves rates of appropriate anticoagulation, reduces length of stay and thirty-day revisit rates for congestive heart failure. C. 2017;20(03):392-400. doi:10.1017/cem.2017.418
2.
Valderrama AL, Dunbar SB, Mensah GA. Atrial Fibrillation. A. 2005;29(5):75-80. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2005.07.021

Alvin Chin

Alvin is currently a PGY5 in the FRCP EM program at McMaster University. He serves as Director of Design for CanadiEM and has interests in knowledge translation and health innovation.