Rockford researchers find same-day discharge OK for most patients having catheter ablation to treat atrial fibrillation
University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford researchers reviewed 543 cases in which patients underwent a procedure to treat an irregular heartbeat to determine if same-day discharge from the hospital was associated with unfavorable outcomes. Their study is published as The Feasibility of Same-Day Discharge After Atrial Fibrillation Ablation: A Community Hospital Experience in the December 2024 issue of the journal EPLabDigest.
The UICOMR research team included third-year medical students Carson Florkowski and William Conroy; Director of Student Research Weihei Zhan, PhD; and Imdad Ahmed, MD, MBA, CPE, FACC, FHRS, FACP, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Medicine and Medical Specialties and medical director of the Mercyhealth Arrhythmia Center in Rockford.
Atrial fibrillation, or Afib, is an irregular heartbeat caused by changes in the heart’s electrical system, which can lead to extreme fatigue, stroke or heart attack if left untreated. Catheter ablation is a common treatment for Afib. It allows a cardiologist to feed a long tube through a vein in the groin and use the heat from radiofrequency to create scar tissue in the pulmonary vein, which disrupts the abnormal electrical signals that cause Afib.
Florkowski and Conroy, both students in the Rural Medical Education Program, wanted to study the safety of same-day discharge, which is well-established in large hospital settings, to see if smaller community hospitals could reduce overnight stays for their patients without negative consequences for the patients.
Small community hospitals with limited resources may benefit from more ablation patients being discharged the same day. “This may also greatly improve patient satisfaction,” says Conroy. “Patients who are stable a few hours after the procedure and who have a support person to help them at home often feel more comfortable recuperating in their own home.”