Baseline demographic and laboratory parameters with and without new-onset AF on admission
| All patients (n=590) | SR (n=536) | Paroxysmal AF (n=23) | Persistent AF (n=31) | P value | |
| Baseline | |||||
| Age (years) | 67±14 | 67±15 | 74±10* | 71±11 | 0.026 |
| Gender (male) | 287 (48.6%) | 259 (48.3%) | 14 (60.9%) | 14 (45.2%) | 0.46 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 23 (19–26) | 23 (19–26) | 22 (19–26) | 23 (20–25) | 0.78 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 130±22 | 130±22 | 122±20 | 127±25 | 0.13 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 75±14 | 75±14 | 74±14 | 74±12 | 0.96 |
| Heart rate (bpm) | 85±16 | 85±14 | 88±24 | 96±30*** | 0.001 |
| pH | 7.42 (7.35–7.49) | 7.42 (7.35–7.49) | 7.42 (7.41–7.44) | 7.43 (7.34–7.45) | 0.83 |
| PO2 (mm Hg) | 75 (64–85) | 75 (64–84) | 80 (64–93) | 64 (61–88) | 0.06 |
| O2sat (%) | 92 (88–95) | 92 (88–95) | 94 (90–97) | 92 (90–95) | 0.38 |
| PCO2 (mm Hg) | 38±10 | 37±10 | 39±11 | 38±10 | 0.75 |
| Lactate (mmol/L) | 2.12±1.10 | 2.12±1.10 | 1.96±0.67 | 2.26±1.36 | 0.65 |
| White blood cells (1012) | 8.12 (5.46–11.87) | 8.18 (5.35–11.93) | 7.12 (6.10–10.25) | 7.75 (5.88–10.62) | 0.65 |
| Haemoglobin (g/L) | 121 (103–138) | 121 (103–137) | 121 (88–141) | 124 (104–144) | 0.82 |
| Creatinine (umol/L) | 273±133 | 271±130 | 328±167* | 266±153 | 0.12 |
| NT-proBNP (pg/mL) | 1564 (794–3309) | 1447 (780–3222) | 2356 (1084–4097) | 3121 (1213–5260)** | 0.002 |
| cTNI-ultra (ng/mL) | 0.057 (0.029–0.075) | 0.063 (0.031–0.075) | 0.035 (0.015–0.103) | 0.016 (0.008-0.107)* | 0.04 |
| D-dimers (mg/L) | 4.00 (2.79–6.46) | 4.04 (2.86–6.50) | 4.31 (2.14–9.21) | 3.09 (1.63–5.16)** | 0.009 |
| Echocardiography | |||||
| MPAD (mm) | 31±8 | 31±8 | 32±7 | 28±7 | 0.17 |
| LAD (mm) | 38±9 | 38±9 | 42±9 | 42±7* | 0.011 |
| LVDD (mm) | 47±9 | 47±9 | 49±7 | 51±6* | 0.054 |
| RAD (mm) | 40 (32–48) | 39 (32–48) | 47 (34–50)* | 42 (36–46) | 0.07 |
| RVDD (mm) | 30±7 | 30±7 | 33±8 | 30±7 | 0.24 |
| RV/LV | 0.63 (0.50–0.80) | 0.63 (0.49–0.80) | 0.70 (0.48–0.83) | 0.57 (0.50–0.66) | 0.24 |
| LVEF (%) | 51±7 | 52±7 | 46±8* | 46±8*** | <0.001 |
| Symptoms | |||||
| Dyspnoea | 241 (40.8%) | 215 (40.1%) | 12 (52.2%) | 14 (45.2%) | 0.45 |
| Chest pain | 57 (9.7%) | 48 (9.0%) | 3 (13.0%) | 6 (19.4%) | 0.14 |
| Chest tightness | 102 (17.3%) | 87 (16.2%) | 7 (30.4%) | 8 (25.8%) | 0.09 |
| Syncope | 49 (8.3%) | 44 (8.2%) | 2 (8.7%) | 3 (9.7%) | 0.96 |
| Cough | 273 (46.3%) | 253 (47.2%) | 10 (43.5%) | 10 (32.3%) | 0.26 |
| Haemoptysis | 78 (13.2%) | 69 (12.9%) | 4 (17.4%) | 5 (16.1%) | 0.73 |
| Comorbidity | |||||
| Malignancy | 66 (11.2%) | 60 (11.2%) | 1 (4.3%) | 5 (16.1%) | 0.40 |
| Septicaemia | 55 (9.3%) | 47 (8.8%) | 4 (17.4%) | 4 (12.9%) | 0.30 |
| COPD | 47 (8.0%) | 40 (7.5%) | 3 (13.0%) | 4 (12.9%) | 0.36 |
| Pulmonary artery hypertension | 56 (9.5%) | 51 (9.5%) | 0 | 5 (16.1%) | 0.14 |
| History of VTE | 180 (30.5%) | 175 (32.6%) | 3 (13.0%) | 2 (6.5%)** | 0.005 |
| Cerebral infarction | 79 (13.4%) | 67 (12.5%) | 5 (21.7%) | 7 (22.6%) | 0.14 |
| Diabetes | 28 (4.7%) | 23 (4.3%) | 3 (13.0%) | 12 (6.5%) | 0.14 |
| Ischaemic heart disease | 76 (12.9%) | 59 (11.0%) | 9 (39.1%)** | 8 (25.8%)* | <0.001 |
| Pulmonary infection | 179 (30.3%) | 156 (29.1%) | 8 (34.8%) | 15 (48.4%)* | 0.07 |
| Chronic cor pulmonale | 25 (4.2%) | 20 (3.7%) | 1 (4.3%) | 4 (12.9%)* | 0.048 |
| Congestive heart failure | 124 (21.0%) | 98 (18.3%) | 10 (43.5%)** | 16 (51.6%)*** | <0.001 |
| Risk stratification | |||||
| sPESI ≥1 | 375 (63.6%) | 336 (62.7%) | 15 (65.2%) | 24 (77.4%) | 0.25 |
| Massive PE | 125 (21.2%) | 89 (16.6%) | 10 (43.5%) | 13 (41.9%) | |
| Submassive PE | 332 (56.3%) | 312 (58.2%) | 9 (39.1%) | 11 (35.5%) | |
| Non-massive PE | 133 (22.5%) | 135 (25.2%) | 4 (17.4%) | 7 (22.6%) | <0.001 |
*, **, ***: AF group vs SR group, p<0.05, p<0.01 and p<0.001, respectively.
AF, atrial fibrillation; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; cTnI-ultra, cardiac troponin I; LAD, left atrium diameter; LVDD, left ventricular end-diastolic dimension; LVEF, left ventricular ejection fraction; MPAD, main pulmonary artery diameter; NT-proBNP, amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide; O2sat, peripheral oxygen saturation; PCO2, partial pressure of carbon dioxide; PE, pulmonary embolism; PO2, blood oxygen pressure; RAD, right atrium diameter; RVDD, right ventricular end-diastolic dimension; RV/LV, right ventricle/left ventricle; sPESI, Simplified Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index; SR, sinus rhythm; VTE, venous thromboembolism.