oa Predictors of in-hospital mortality among Middle Eastern Arab and South Asian patients hospitalized with atrial fibrillation: Analysis from a 20-year registry in Qatar (1991-2010)

Objectives: Although predictors of mortality have been identified in major atrial fibrillation (AF) clinical trials, most of the data were limited to studies in the developed world and included mainly Caucasian patients. The aim of this study is to identify predictors of mortality in Middle Eastern Arab and South Asian patients hospitalized with AF in a real-world population in a Middle Eastern country. Methods: Retrospective analysis of prospective registry of all patients hospitalized with AF in Qatar from 1991 through 2010 was made. Ethnicity, clinical characteristics and co-morbidities were analyzed in relation to mortality. Results: During the 20 year period; 2857 Arabs and 548 Asians were hospitalized for AF. There were 138 deaths among Arabs and 14 among Asians (4.8% versus 2.6%, p= 0.02). Multivariate analysis of predictors of in-hospital mortality identified chronic renal impairment and acute coronary syndromes as independent predictors of poor outcome among patients hospitalized with AF whereas ethnicity was not [Table]. Conclusions: In this region, the risk of in-hospital mortality for patients hospitalized with AF remains increased in patients who have chronic renal impairment or acute coronary syndromes irrespective of ethnicity. Patients at high risk may benefit from aggressive monitoring and intervention in order to reduce mortality.