Is the Risk of Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation Predictable in Patients Undergoing Surgery Due to Primary Lung Cancer?

Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a type of cardiac arrhythmia which is commonly seen following lung resection. There is currently no algorithm which can predict which patients will develop postoperative AF (PAF). The present study aims to identify the risk factors for the development of PAF and high-risk patients with PAF along with multiple risk factors. Materials and Methods A total of 887 patients, who underwent lung resection due to primary lung malignancy at our clinic between January 2000 and December 2016, were retrospectively analysed. Group 1 (n = 44) consisted of the patients who developed PAF and Group 2 (n = 843) consisted of the patients without PAF. Age and sex of the patients, comorbidities, previous diagnosis of malignancy, and surgery-related variables were evaluated using statistical methods for their effects on the development of AF. A score was assigned to each identified risk factor and scores of the patients were calculated. The risk of developing PAF was evaluated based on this scoring system. Results We found that >= 60 years of age and the diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were significant risk factors for the development of PAF (p < 0.05). The risk of developing PAF was not associated with male sex, previous history of malignancy, presence of comorbidities, and the type of surgery applied. There was an increased risk of AF with increasing scores in the risk calculation system. Conclusion Advanced age and the presence of COPD were found to be associated with an increased risk of developing PAF. In addition we found a significant increase in the risk of developing PAF in the presence of multiple factors, although they did not reach statistical significance alone.