Can Patients With Recent-Onset Atrial Fibrillation Be Discharged From The Emergency Department After Successful Cardioversion?

Adeel Chaudhary; Mandar Marathe

doi:10.1136/emermed-2012-202183.4

Evidence Review (Best Evidence Topic) Emergency Medicine & Cardiology

Can Patients With Recent-Onset Atrial Fibrillation Be Discharged From The Emergency Department After Successful Cardioversion?

Adeel Chaudhary, Mandar Marathe

Emergency Medicine Journal, 30(1), 81-83 · 2013 · doi:10.1136/emermed-2012-202183.4

Plain-language summary

A “Best Evidence Topic” review addressing a common emergency department dilemma: once a patient in acute atrial fibrillation is successfully shocked back into normal rhythm (cardioverted) and feels well, can they simply go home, or do they need admission for observation? After systematically reviewing the best available evidence from 96 identified papers, the review concluded that immediate discharge is a safe strategy for stable patients with recent-onset AF and no other reason for admission.

Why this matters

This is a practical, evidence-summarised answer to a question every emergency clinician faces regularly, helping avoid unnecessary hospital admissions for a group of patients who are safe to go home.

Published abstract

A short-cut review was carried out to establish whether patients who had been successfully cardioverted after presenting to the emergency department with acute onset atrial fibrillation and who were clinically well could be safely discharged immediately. The reported searches of Medline, Embase and the Cochrane database found 96 papers, of which seven presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. It is concluded that immediate discharge of these patients is a safe strategy.

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Keywords

atrial fibrillation cardioversion emergency department discharge best evidence topic

Cite this publication

Chaudhary A, Marathe M. Can Patients With Recent-Onset Atrial Fibrillation Be Discharged From The Emergency Department After Successful Cardioversion?. Emergency Medicine Journal. 2013;30(1):81-83. doi:10.1136/emermed-2012-202183.4

Chaudhary, A., Marathe, M. (2013). Can Patients With Recent-Onset Atrial Fibrillation Be Discharged From The Emergency Department After Successful Cardioversion?. Emergency Medicine Journal, 30(1), 81-83. https://doi.org/10.1136/emermed-2012-202183.4

@article{ChaudharyA2013,
  author = {Adeel Chaudhary and Mandar Marathe},
  title = {Can Patients With Recent-Onset Atrial Fibrillation Be Discharged From The Emergency Department After Successful Cardioversion?},
  journal = {Emergency Medicine Journal},
  year = {2013},
  doi = {10.1136/emermed-2012-202183.4},
  volume = {30},
  number = {1},
  pages = {81-83}
}

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Adeel Chaudhary
AU  - Mandar Marathe
PY  - 2013
TI  - Can Patients With Recent-Onset Atrial Fibrillation Be Discharged From The Emergency Department After Successful Cardioversion?
JO  - Emergency Medicine Journal
VL  - 30
IS  - 1
SP  - 81-83
DO  - 10.1136/emermed-2012-202183.4
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1136/emermed-2012-202183.4
ER  -

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