Atrial fibrillation in emergency department: prevalence of sinus rhythm 1 week after discharge

Background Current guidelines do not provide definitive indications about the treatment in emergency departments (ED) of patients with recent-onset atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods A multicentre observational study involving four general hospitals of the same metropolitan area was conducted. All consecutive adult patients admitted to the ED with recent symptoms of AF ( Results On the 24 h Holter recordings at 1-week follow-up, stable sinus rhythm was detected in 46/58 (79.3%; 95% CI 68.9 to 89.7) patients in group A and 8/33 (24.2%; 95% CI 9.6 to 38.9) patients in group B (p Conclusion According to the study results, rhythm at the time of ED discharge is a poor indicator of the short-term evolution of AF.