Atrial Fibrillation Risk and Urate-Lowering Therapy in Patients with Gout: A Cohort Study Using a Clinical Database

Individuals of Asian descent are at higher risk for developing hyperuricemia and gout as compared to Western populations. Urate-lowering therapy (ULT) is an effective treatment for hyperuricemia and gout. It was reported that febuxostat, one of the ULTs, raises the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) in elderly populations. Nevertheless, this association has not been properly investigated in Asian populations. We aimed to investigate the development of AF after ULT with different drugs in an Asian population. We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the clinical database at Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital. Patients newly diagnosed with gout between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2020 and with a documented baseline serum uric acid (sUA) level but no prior diagnosis of AF were identified. Patients were divided into three groups-allopurinol, benzbromarone, and febuxostat users. During the follow-up period, the risks of incident AF following the initiation of ULT with different drugs were assessed. Development of incident AF was noted in 43 (6%) of the 713 eligible patients during the follow-up period (mean, 49.4 ± 26.6 months). Febuxostat-treated patients had a higher prevalence of certain comorbidities (diabetes mellitus, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease) and higher CHA2DS2-VASc scores. Compared with allopurinol, neither febuxostat nor benzbromarone was associated with increased adjusted hazard ratios (HR) for incident AF (HR: 1.20, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.43-3.34; HR: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.22-2.08). There was no difference in the risk of incident AF among Asian patients with gout who received febuxostat, allopurinol, or benzbromarone. Further studies are needed to evaluate long-term cardiovascular outcomes in patients receiving different ULT drugs.

Incident Atrial Fibrillation and In-Hospital Mortality in SARS-CoV-2 Patients

(1) Background: Among the different cardiovascular (CV) manifestations of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), arrhythmia and atrial fibrillation (AF) in particular have recently received special attention. The aims of our study were to estimate the incidence of AF in patients hospitalized for COVID-19, and to evaluate its role as a possible predictor of in-hospital all-cause mortality. (2) Methods: We enrolled 3435 people with SARS-CoV2 infection admitted to three hospitals in Northern Italy from February 2020 to May 2021. We collected data on their clinical history, laboratory tests, pharmacological treatment and intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Incident AF and all-cause in-hospital mortality were considered as outcomes. (3) Results: 145 (4.2%) patients developed AF during hospitalization, with a median time since admission of 3 days (I-III quartile: 0, 12). Patients with incident AF were admitted more frequently to the ICU (39.3 vs. 12.4%, p < 0.001), and more frequently died (37.2 vs. 16.9%, p < 0.001). In the Cox regression model, the significant determinants of incident AF were age (HR: 1.041; 95% CI: 1.022, 1.060 per year), a history of AF (HR: 2.720; 95% CI: 1.508, 4.907), lymphocyte count (HR: 0.584; 95% CI: 0.384, 0.888 per 103/µL), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR, HR: 0.988; 95% CI: 0.980, 0.996 per mL/min) and ICU admission (HR: 5.311; 95% CI: 3.397, 8.302). Incident AF was a predictor of all-cause mortality (HR: 1.405; 95% CI: 1.027, 1.992) along with age (HR: 1.057; 95% CI: 1.047, 1.067), male gender (HR: 1.315; 95% CI: 1.064; 1.626), dementia (HR: 1.373; 95% CI: 1.045, 1.803), lower platelet (HR: 0.997; 95% CI: 0.996, 0.998 per 103/µL) and lymphocyte counts (HR: 0.843; 95% CI: 0.725, 0.982 per 103/µL), C-Reactive protein values (HR: 1.004; 95% CI: 1.003, 1.005 per mg/L), eGFR (HR: 0.990; 95% CI: 0.986, 0.994 per mL/min), and ICU admission (HR: 1.759; 95% CI: 1.292, 2.395). (4) Conclusions: Incident AF is a common complication in COVID-19 patients during hospitalization, and its occurrence strongly predicts in-hospital mortality.

Effects of Prevalent and Incident Atrial Fibrillation on Renal Outcome, Cardiovascular Events, and Mortality in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

BACKGROUND

Little is known about how incident atrial fibrillation (AF) affects the clinical outcomes in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients and whether there is a different influence between pre-existing and incident AF.

METHODS

Incident CKD patients from 2000 to 2013 were retrieved from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) of Taiwan and they were classified as non-AF (n = 15,251), prevalent AF (n = 612), and incident AF (n = 588). The outcomes of interest were end-stage renal disease (ESRD) requiring dialysis, all-cause mortality, cardiovascular (CV) mortality, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), stroke or systemic thromboembolism.

RESULTS

Compared with CKD patients without AF, those with prevalent or incident AF were associated with higher adjusted rates of ESRD (hazard ratio (HR), 1.40; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.32-1.48; HR, 2.91; 95% CI, 2.74-3.09, respectively), stroke or systemic thromboembolism (HR, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.77-2.03; HR, 1.67; 95% CI, 1.54-1.81, respectively), AMI (HR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.09-1.41; HR, 1.99; 95% CI, 1.75-2.27, respectively), all-cause mortality (HR, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.56-1.72; HR, 2.17; 95% CI, 2.06-2.29, respectively), and CV mortality (HR, 2.95; 95% CI, 2.62-3.32; HR, 4.61; 95% CI, 4.09-5.20, respectively). Intriguingly, CKD patients with prevalent AF were associated with lower adjusted rates of ESRD, AMI, all-cause mortality, and CV mortality compared with those with incident AF.

CONCLUSION

Both incident and prevalent AF were independently associated with greater risks of AMI, all-cause mortality, CV mortality, ESRD, and stroke or systemic thromboembolism. Our findings are novel in that, compared with prevalent AF, incident AF possessed an even higher risk of some clinical consequences, including ESRD, all-cause mortality, CV mortality, and AMI.