Cohort profile: patient characteristics and quality-of-life measurements for newly-referred patients with atrial fibrillation—Keio interhospital Cardiovascular Studies-atrial fibrillation (KiCS-AF)

• Published in: BMJ open 2019-12, Vol.9 (12), p.e032746-e032746
• Main Authors: Ikemura, Nobuhiro, Spertus, John A, Kimura, Takehiro, Mahaffey, Kenneth, Piccini, Jonathan P, Inohara, Taku, Ueda, Ikuko, Tanimoto, Kojiro, Suzuki, Masahiro, Nakamura, Iwao, Akaishi, Makoto, Mitamura, Hideo, Fukuda, Keiichi, Takatsuki, Seiji, Kohsaka, Shun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: adult cardiology; Age; Anticoagulants; Cardiac arrhythmia; Clinical medicine; Data collection; Diabetes; Family medical history; Hospitals; Hypertension; Laboratories; pacing & electrophysiology; Patient-Centred Medicine; Patients; Physicians; quality in health care; Quality of life; Questionnaires; Stroke
• ISSN: 2044-6055; 2044-6055
• DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-032746

PurposeBesides the high rates of morbidity and mortality, atrial fibrillation (AF) is also associated with impairment of quality-of-life (QOL). However, reports covering non-selected AF population within Asian countries remain scarce. The objective of the Keio interhospital Cardiovascular Studies-atrial fibrillation (KiCS-AF) registry is to clarify the baseline and QOL profiles of the AF patients at the time of initial referral to identify areas for improvement and country-specific gaps.ParticipantsThe KiCS-AF registry is a multicentre, prospective cohort study designed to specifically recruit AF patients newly referred to the 11 network hospitals within the Kanto area of Japan. The registry completed its enrolment in June 2018. All patients were requested to answer the Atrial Fibrillation Effect on Quality-of-Life (AFEQT) questionnaire both at baseline and 1 year, with planned clinical follow-up for 5 years. The registry also assessed individual treatment strategies including rate and rhythm control, stroke prophylaxis, and their impacts on patient-reported QOL.Findings to dateAs of December 2016, 2464 AF patients were registered; their mean age was 67.1 years (SD, 11.7), majority (69.7%; n=1717) were men and 49.2% presented with paroxysmal AF. The mean CHA2DS2-VASc (cardiac failure or dysfunction, hypertension, age ≥75 years, diabetes, stroke including vascular disease, age 65-74 years, and sex category [female]) score was 2.3 (SD, 1.6) and oral anticoagulant therapy was used for 88.6% of patients with CHA2DS2-VASc scores ≥2. The median AFEQT-overall summary score was 79.1 (IQR, 66.6–89.1). Roughly 50% had significantly impaired QOL (ie, AFEQT