Abstract Body (Do not enter title and authors here):
Background
Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) is an intermittent irregular arrhythmia that terminates within seven days. Prior studies have shown that females with atrial fibrillation are at increased risk of mortality and readmissions compared to men. Given the dramatic rise in PAF diagnoses over the past several years, the impact of sex on clinical outcomes in this patient population requires further analysis. This study aims to investigate sex-based disparities in clinical outcomes over recent years for patients with PAF.
Methods
In this large scale, retrospective cohort study, patients who were admitted with PAF were analyzed from 2016 to 2020 using the National Readmissions Database. The study population was divided into male and female groups. Diagnoses were classified according to the International Classification of Diseases Tenth (ICD-10) Revision codes. The primary outcome was 30-day readmissions. Secondary outcomes included inpatient mortality and length of stay.
Results
During the study period, a total of 548,617 patients with PAF meeting inclusion criteria were admitted. Of this population, 55.3% were female (n = 303,412) and 44.7% (n =245,205) were male. The mean age was 73.7 ± 11.9 years for females and 65.7± 13.6 years for males. After adjusting for baseline characteristics, female sex was associated with a higher 30-day readmission rate (HR: 1.06, CI: 1.03-1.09, p < 0.001). Multivariate regression analysis for inpatient mortality and length of stay was higher for females than males (p < 0.01 for both).
Conclusion
Female patients experienced worse overall outcomes compared to male patients with higher readmission rates, inpatient mortality, and longer length of stay. These data suggest that targeted intervention for females may be required to improve these outcomes.