Higher incidence of new atrial fibrillation in hospitalised COVID-19 patients compared to lower respiratory tract infection, however, less patients anticoagulated at discharge (preprint)

ABSTRACT

Background Infection is a well-known contributor to developing cardiac arrythmias such as atrial fibrillation (AF), which contributes to over 25% of all ischaemic stroke. We wanted to quantify the incidence of first-diagnosed (new) AF (nAF) during hospitalisation with COVID-19 compared to a lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI), as well as compare anticoagulation rates at discharge, reasons for non-prescription of anticoagulation and determine factors associated with developing nAF with COVID-19. Methods We analysed a comprehensive hospital coding database on patients hospitalised due to COVID-19+/-AF or LRTI +/-AF, between 1/3/2020 and 31/12/2020 at a large tertiary hospital in the UK. Incidence of nAF during COVID-19 or LRTI, and the proportions of nAF patients discharged on anticoagulation and reasons for non-prescription from both cohorts were quantified. Results 2243 patients were hospitalised with LRTI and 488 with COVID-19. nAF was diagnosed in significantly more COVID-19 patients compared to LRTI (7.0% vs 3.6%, P=0.003). However, significantly less COVID-19 patients were discharged on anticoagulation compared to LRTI (19.2% vs 55.9%, P=0.003) despite similar CHA2DS2-VASc scores, and lower ORBIT scores. 14/26 LRTI +nAF patients had documented contraindication not to be anticoagulated, whereas only 1/12 patients with COVID-19 +nAF did. Patients who developed nAF during hospitalisation with COVID-19 were older (P<0.001), had pre-existing congestive cardiac failure (P=0.004), ischaemic heart disease (IHD) or peripheral vascular disease (PVD) (P<0.001), and a higher CHA2DS2-VASc score (P=0.02). Older age (Odds ratio (OR) 1.03, P=0.007) and IHD/PVD (OR 2.87, P=0.01) increased the odds of developing nAF with COVID-19. Conclusion Higher incidence of nAF and lower anticoagulation rates in COVID-19 patients were observed, compared to LRTI. A larger proportion of COVID-19 +nAF patients did not have a clear documented reason for non-prescription of anticoagulation in their notes. Whilst we await further research and clear guidelines, a pragmatic approach would be to holistically consider anticoagulation in all patients with COVID-19+nAF and a high ischaemic stroke risk.