Excess Bed Days and Hospitalization Costs Associated With 30‐Day Complications Following Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation

Background
The incidence and type of complications following catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation have been extensively examined, but the impact associated with these complications on the length of stay and hospitalization costs is unknown.

Methods and Results
This cohort study included 20 117 adult patients (mean age 62.6±11.4 years, 30.3% women, median length of stay 1 day [interquartile range 1–2 days]) undergoing atrial fibrillation ablation in financial years 2011 to 2017 in Australia with available cost data from the National Hospital Cost Data Collection, which determines government reimbursement of health services provided. The primary outcome was the costs associated with complications occurring up to 30 days postdischarge adjusted for inflation to 2021 Australian dollars. We used generalized linear models to estimate the increase in length of stay and cost associated with complications, adjusting for patient characteristics. Within 30 days of hospital discharge, 1151 (5.72%) patients experienced a complication with bleeding (3.35%) and pericardial effusion (0.75%) being the most common. On average, the occurrence of a complication was associated with an adjusted 3.3 (95% CI, 3.1–3.6) excess bed days of hospital care (totaling 3851 days), and a $7812 (95% CI, $6754–$8870) increase in hospitalization cost (totaling $9.0 million). Most of the total excess cost was attributable to bleeding ($3.8 million, 41.9% of total excess cost) and pericardial effusion ($1.6 million, 18.2%).

Conclusions
Complications following atrial fibrillation ablation were associated with significant increase in length of stay and hospitalization costs, most of which were attributable to bleeding and pericardial effusion. Strategies to improve procedural safety and reduce health care costs should focus on these complications.