Nurse follow-up visit after the atrial complex ablation: a cross-sectional descriptive study

Type of funding sources: None.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) and flutter are complex arrhythmias to ablation because their anatomical location. A navigation system is required to map the ablationable area and in addition, the patient are under general anesthesia. In our hospital, the expert nurse control these patients 10 days afters discharge.

To identify the complications and recurrences of arrhythmia that the nurse has detected early and how it has been managed.

Cross-sectional descriptive study, from September 2020 to January 2022, all patients who underwent complex atrial ablation under total anaesthesia and who were assessed by a nurse 10 days later were included. In the event that any problem arises, the nurse is in charge of managing the network of referrals to specialist doctors.

A total of 159 patients were included with a mean age of 62 years (SD 10.4) and 34% were women. Arrhythmias were 73.5% AF, 11.3% flutter, 14.5% re-do ablations mixed AF/Flutter. CHA2DS2-VASc scale mean 2 points (SD 1.2). Nine cardioversions were scheduled due to early AF recurrence documented. 35% (n=55) of the patients underwent a blood test to control risk factors such as cholesterol, diabetes, kidney failure or thyroid problems. 17.6% (n=28) were programmed for a polysomnography. Cardiologist was consulted in 6.3% (n=10) due to edema of the lower legs, ventricular extrasystoles, asthenia and bradycardia. Interconsultations were also made with endocrinology 1.2%, urology 0.6%, vascular surgery 6.2% and neurology 2.5%. Finally, 12% of patients were referred to their GP for minor controls.

There is little evidence to suggest that nursing consultation could be useful for the early detection of complications and the management of arrhythmia recurrences. More experimental studies are necessary to know the impact of nurse follow-up in the management of patients undergoing complex atrial ablation.