Atrial fibrillation after esophagectomy is a marker for postoperative morbidity and mortality

Postoperative atrial fibrillation complicates recovery in 20% to 25% of patients after esophagectomy for cancer. The purpose of this study is to understand this phenomenon. Between 1982 and 2000, 198 (22% of 921) patients had postoperative atrial fibrillation after esophagectomy. Propensity scoring and the Greedy Match algorithm were used to develop a cohort of control patients for statistical comparisons. One hundred forty-four patients who had postoperative atrial fibrillation were matched. Pulmonary complications affected 42% of patients in the atrial fibrillation group compared with 17% in the control group ( P < .001). Anastomotic leakage was more common in the atrial fibrillation group (6.9% vs 1.4%, P = .035). Surgical sepsis migrated with atrial fibrillation 4 times more frequently ( P = .001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that postoperative pulmonary complications (odds ratio, 2.5; 95% confidence interval, 1.42-4.3) and surgical sepsis (odds ratio, 3.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-9.6) were associated with postoperative atrial fibrillation. The mortality rates of the atrial fibrillation and control groups were 23% and 6.3%, respectively ( P < .001). Median survival, excluding hospital deaths, was not different at 14.5 months (atrial fibrillation group) and 16.9 months (control group; P = .4). Atrial fibrillation is a surrogate for surgical morbidity and mortality after esophagectomy. The occurrence of atrial fibrillation after esophageal resection should prompt not only the appropriate management of the arrhythmia but also a search for a more ominous underlying cause.