Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion vs Anticoagulants in Dialysis With Atrial Fibrillation

Does percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion compared with an oral anticoagulant offer reduced risk of bleeding, death, and stroke in patients with kidney failure and nonvalvular atrial fibrillation who are undergoing dialysis?In this cohort study, 293 patients with kidney failure and atrial fibrillation who received left atrial appendage occlusion were propensity matched to 2051 patients receiving oral anticoagulants. The study found evidence that left atrial appendage occlusion was associated with a lower risk of recurrent bleeding events and death.The findings of this study suggest that in patients with kidney failure and atrial fibrillation, left atrial appendage occlusion may offer safer thromboembolic risk reduction compared with oral anticoagulants.

Corresponding Author: Nishank Jain, MD, MPH, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 W Markham St, Slot 501, Little Rock, AR 72205 (njain2@uams.edu).

Link to the article in your story

We encourage you to link out to this article in your story using the link below. It includes an access token that will give free access to the article for your readers up to one year after publication. (The link will be live after the article publishes and embargo is lifted.)

Please see the article for additional information, including full author list, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

Need more information? Contact us.