Clustering Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation
| Author | Behrooz Farzanegan | en |
| Author | Nasser Malekpour Alamdari | en |
| Author | Navid Nuraei | en |
| Author | Mohammad Fathi | en |
| Orcid | Nasser Malekpour Alamdari [0000-0003-3278-9205] | en |
| Orcid | Navid Nuraei [0000-0001-7226-7618] | en |
| Orcid | Mohammad Fathi [0000-0002-5421-5862] | en |
| Issued Date | 2024-03-31 | en |
| Abstract | Background: Atrial fibrillation is the most common cardiac arrhythmia in emergency departments and intensive care units. Objectives: We aimed to characterize critical care patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation who are at a higher risk for mortality or readmission. Methods: A secondary analysis was conducted on data from a large sample of patients admitted between January 2010 and December 2015 to the emergency department of a hospital who had blood electrolytes measured. Data from 520 individuals with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation were analyzed. A clustering algorithm was applied to identify patients with similar electrolyte profiles. Results: Two clusters of patients were identified (N1 = 163, N2 = 357) with significantly different proportions of poor outcomes: 57 (35.0%) vs. 66 (18.5%), respectively (P < 0.001). The high-risk cluster included older patients [74.4 (12.8) vs. 66.6 (14.7) years, P < 0.001] and had higher mean serum glucose levels compared to the low-risk cluster. Additionally, the high-risk group had lower concentrations of serum sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium (all P < 0.001). Endocrine and circulatory comorbidities were also more common in the high-risk cluster (both P ≤ 0.001). No significant difference was observed in the female sex ratio between the two clusters [81 (49.7%) vs. 152 (42.6%), P = 0.156]. Conclusions: Based on serum electrolyte concentrations, there are two distinct clusters with different prognoses in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. The high-risk cluster is characterized by older age, more comorbidities, higher serum glucose levels, and lower serum concentrations of sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium. | en |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.5812/jcce-148597 | en |
| Keyword | Paroxysmal | en |
| Keyword | Atrial Fibrillation | en |
| Keyword | Clustering | en |
| Keyword | Arrhythmia | en |
| Keyword | Serum Electrolyte | en |
| Keyword | Critical | en |
| Publisher | Brieflands | en |
| Title | Clustering Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation | en |
| Type | Research Article | en |