Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia in adults associated with thromboembolic complications. External electrical\ncardioversion (DCCV) is a safe procedure used to convert AF to normal sinus rhythm. We sought to study factors that affect\nutilization of DCCV in hospitalized patients with AF.The study sample was drawn from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) of\nthe Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project in the United States. Patients with a primary discharge diagnosis of AF that received\nDCCV during hospitalization in the years 2000ââ?¬â??2010 were included. An estimated 2,810,530 patients with a primary diagnosis\nof AF were hospitalized between 2001 and 2010, of which 1,19,840 (4.26%) received DCCV. The likelihood of receiving DCCV\nwas higher in patients who were males, whites, privately insured, and aged < 40 years and those with fewer comorbid conditions.\nHigher CHADS2 score was found to have an inverse association with DCCV use. In-hospital stroke, in-hospitalmortality, length of\nstay, and cost for hospitalization were significantly lower for patients undergoing DCCV during AF related hospitalization. Further\nresearch is required to study the contribution of other disease and patient related factors affecting the use of this procedure as well\nas postprocedure outcomes.
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