Dataset Information

Rhythm monitoring strategies for atrial fibrillation detection in patients with cryptogenic stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To summarize data on atrial fibrillation (AF) detection rates and predictors across different rhythm monitoring strategies in patients with cryptogenic stroke (CS) or embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS).

Methods

MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science were searched to identify all published studies providing relevant data through July 6, 2020. Random-effects meta-analysis method was used to pool estimates.

Results

We included 47 studies reporting on a pooled population of 8,215 patients with CS or ESUS. Using implantable cardiac monitor (ICM), the pooled rate of AF was 12.2% (95% CI 9.4-15.0) at 3 months, 16.0% (95% CI 13.2-18.8) at 6 months, 18.7% (95% CI 15.7-21.7) at 12 months, 22.8% (95% CI 19.1-26.5) at 24 months, and 28.5% (95% CI 17.6-39.3) at 36 months. AF rates were significantly higher in patients with ESUS vs CS (22.0% vs 14.2%; p < 0.001) at 6 months, and in studies using Reveal LINQ vs Reveal XT ICM (19.1% vs 13.0%; p = 0.001) at 12 months. Using mobile cardiac outpatient telemetry (MCOT), the pooled rate of AF was 13.7% (95% CI 10.2-17.2) at 1 month. Predictors of AF detection with ICM included older age, CHA₂DS₂-VASc score, left atrial enlargement, P wave maximal duration and prolonged PR interval.

Conclusion

The yield of ICM increases with the duration of monitoring. More than a quarter of patients with CS or ESUS will be diagnosed with AF during follow-up. About one in seven patients had AF detected within a month of MCOT, suggesting that a non-invasive rhythm monitoring strategy should be considered before invasive monitoring.

SUBMITTER: Noubiap JJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8080458 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:IntroductionLong-term cardiac monitoring studies have unveiled low-burden, occult atrial fibrillation (AF) in some patients with otherwise cryptogenic stroke (CS), but occult AF is also found in some individuals without a stroke history and in patients with stroke of a known cause (KS). Clinical management would be aided by estimates of how often occult AF in a patient with CS is causal vs. incidental.MethodsThrough a systematic search, we identified all case-control and cohort studies applying identical long-term monitoring techniques to both patients with CS and KS. We performed a random-effects meta-analysis across these studies to determine the best estimate of the differential frequency of occult AF in CS and KS among all patients and across age subgroups. We then applied Bayes' theorem to determine the probability that occult AF is causal or incidental.ResultsThe systematic search identified three case-control and cohort studies enrolling 560 patients (315 CS, 245 KS). Methods of long-term monitoring were implantable loop recorder in 31.0%, extended external monitoring in 67.9%, and both in 1.2%. Crude cumulative rates of AF detection were CS 47/315 (14.9%) vs. KS 23/246 (9.3%). In the formal meta-analysis, the summary odds ratio for occult AF in CS vs. KS in all patients was 1.80 (95% CI, 1.05-3.07), p = 0.03. With the application of Bayes' theorem, the corresponding probabilities indicated that, when present, occult AF in patients with CS is causal in 38.2% (95% CI, 0-63.6%) of patients. Analyses stratified by age suggested that detected occult AF in patients with CS was causal in 62.3% (95 CI, 0-87.1%) of patients under the age of 65 years and 28.5% (95 CI, 0-63.7%) of patients aged 65 years and older but estimates had limited precision.ConclusionCurrent evidence is preliminary, but it indicates that in cryptogenic stroke when occult AF is found, it is causal in about 38.2% of patients. These findings suggest that anticoagulation therapy may be beneficial to prevent recurrent stroke in a substantial proportion of patients with CS found to have occult AF.