Patients
This is a retrospective and multicenter study of the impact of
preexisting anemia on the post-procedural hemoglobin drop following AF
ablation. The databases of AF
ablation were reviewed in Onomichi General Hospital, Hiroshima
General Hospital, and Hiroshima University Hospital. The data from
January 2016 to December 2019 were collected. The study protocol was
approved by the research committee of each institution. Consecutive AF
patients with or without preexisting anemia were considered eligible for
inclusion if they underwent a radiofrequency-based pulmonary vein
isolation for the first time, and a single dose of rivaroxaban,
apixaban, edoxaban, or dabigatran had been skipped prior to their
ablation procedures. Patients were excluded if they were prescribed with
inappropriate DOAC dose regimens, underwent their ablation procedures in
the afternoon, or adjunctive ablation procedures such as cavotricuspid
isthmus ablation, linear lesions, superior vena cava isolation, or
ablation of non-pulmonary vein triggers. For risk stratification of
thromboembolisms and bleedings, the
CHA2DS2-VASc [4] and ORBID [5]
scores were calculated in all patients.