Increasing age and atrial arrhythmias are associated with increased thromboembolic events in a young cohort of adults with repaired tetralogy of Fallot.

BACKGROUND: Adults with repaired Tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF) comprise one of the largest cohorts among adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD). These patients have a higher burden of atrial arrhythmias (AA), leading to increased adverse events, including stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA). However, the data on factors associated with stroke/TIA in rTOF are limited, and classic risk factors may not apply. We studied event rates and associated factors for thromboembolism in a rTOF cohort. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of all adult patients age >18 years with rTOF followed at a single ACHD tertiary care center. AA of interest were atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrial flutter (AFL). RESULTS: Data from 260 patients were identified, mean age 37.6 SD 13.3 years, followed over 5108 patient-years (mean 16.6 SD 8.2 years). 43 patients had AF and/or AFL, and 30 patients had thromboembolic events, of which 19 patients had stroke/TIA. The event rate for any thromboembolism was 3.39 per 100 patient-years follow-up in patients with AA, compared to 1.80 in patients without (P = .07). In univariate analysis, older age and diabetes were associated with thromboembolic events. In multivariate analysis, only older age was associated with thromboembolic events. CONCLUSIONS: In our relatively young cohort of adults with rTOF, there was a high prevalence of AA, associated with nearly double the rate of thromboembolic events compared to patients without AA. Older age alone is independently associated with thromboembolic events. Further studies into assessment of silent AA are required, and routine assessments should be considered at an earlier age.

The diagnosis "failure to thrive" and its impact on the care of hospitalized older adults: a matched case-control study.

BACKGROUND: "Failure to thrive" and associated diagnoses are non-specific terms applied to older adults when there is lack of diagnostic clarity and imply an absence of medical acuity. We investigated the effect of such admission diagnoses on delivery of patient care in a cohort of older adults admitted to a tertiary care teaching hospital. METHODS: Retrospective matched cohort study conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Vancouver, BC. Cases identified were adults aged ≥65 years admitted to acute medical wards with an admission diagnosis of "failure to thrive", "FTT", "failure to cope", or "FTC", between January 1, 2016 and November 1, 2017 (n = 60, median age 80 years). Age-matched controls met the same inclusion criteria with admission diagnoses other than those of interest (n = 60, median age 79 years). RESULTS: The primary outcome was time to admission, measured from time points in the emergency room that spanned from triage to completion of admission orders. Secondary outcomes were concordance of admission and discharge diagnoses and length of stay in hospital. The total time from triage to admission for older adults admitted with FTT and associated diagnoses was 10 h 40 min, compared to 6 h 58 min for controls (p = .02). Concordance of admission and discharge diagnoses was only 12% for the "failure to thrive" cohort, and 95% for controls. Notably, 88% of the "failure to thrive" cohort had an acute medical diagnosis at the time of discharge. Patients in this cohort stayed 18.3 days in hospital compared to 10.2 days (p = .001). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with an admission diagnosis of FTT or other associated diagnoses had significant delays in care when presenting to the emergency room, despite often having acute medical conditions on presentation. The use of this non-specific label can lead to premature diagnostic closure and should be avoided in clinical practice.

Anticoagulation for Thromboembolic Risk Reduction in Adults With Congenital Heart Disease.

Adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD) represent one of the fastest expanding groups of patients in contemporary practice with unique and often complex management pathways. ACHD have a higher risk of thromboembolism not only from their complex physiology and anatomy but also from substrates such as valvular heart disease, atrial arrhythmias, cyanosis, and ventricular dysfunction, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. Thromboembolic event rates in ACHD have been shown to be related to Congestive Heart Failure, Hypertension, Age (≥75 years), Diabetes, Stroke/Transient Ischemic Attack, Vascular Disease, Age (65-74 years), Sex (Female) (CHA2DS2-VASc) scores (0.75%, 1.24%, and 2.65% per patient-year for CHA2DS2-VASc scores of 0, 1, and ≥ 2 respectively), but are likely more strongly associated with disease complexity. However, optimum anticoagulation strategies have not been studied extensively in this group, mostly because of their heterogeneity and complex clinical profiles. Individual comorbidities, disease severity, and the presence of prosthetic material must be taken into consideration when determining the ideal anticoagulation strategy in pregnant patients. With improving survival and expanding treatment options, the requirement of thromboprophylaxis is steadily increasing, however, safety, choice, and duration of anticoagulation strategies in this group has not been well studied. In this review we aim to highlight the current understanding of antithrombotic therapy in the ACHD population, with discussion regarding special considerations in unique clinical situations relevant to ACHD.