District versus academic hospitals: clinical outcomes of patients with atrial fibrillation

INTRODUCTION Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with increased hospitalization. OBJECTIVES We aimed to compare long‑term outcomes in patients with AF hospitalized in academic and district hospitals. PATIENTS AND METHODS This retrospective observational study included data from the Multicenter Experience in Atrial Fibrillation Patients Treated with Oral Anticoagulants (CRAFT; NCT02987062) study which included AF patients hospitalized between 2011 and 2016 in academic and district hospitals. The primary end point was a major adverse event (MAE) defined as all‑cause death and thromboembolic and hemorrhagic events during the median 4‑year follow‑up. RESULTS We analyzed 2983 patients with AF: 2271 (76%) from academic and 712 (24%) from district hospitals. Patients treated in district hospitals, as compared with patients treated in academic hospitals, more often experienced MAEs (53% vs 37%; P