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.