Relationship of blood transfusion and increased risk of atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass graft surgery

New onset atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery contributes to increased morbidity , hospital length of stay and resource utilization. Although many aspects of atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery is obvious , the mechanism by which cardiac surgery predispose spatients to AF is unknown as yet . Recent evidence support an inflammatory role in development of AF . Blood transfusion augmented the inflammatory response and so incidence of postoperative AF. Method : Retrospective study from January 2005 to July 2007 on 2095 patients who underwent isolated CABG with or without valve replacement . Variables associated with development of new onset AF were identified by logistic regression .Results : Blood transfusion was performed in 487 patients that was associated with a significant increase in new onset of AF (45.9% vs 37.9% ; p<0.01) . Conclusion : Blood transfusion can increase the incidence of new onset AF after cardiac surgery . This factor should be considered in identifying patients who might benefit from prophylais to prevent this common postoperative complication and its adverse consequencies