Table 4.
Overview of studies with important findings regarding the pre-existence of a substrate in the mechanism of post-operative atrial fibrillation
| Author, year | Substrate factor | Species | Main finding |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steinberg (1993) | Structural alteration | Human | Signal-averaged surface P-wave duration is a potent, accurate, and independent predictor of POAF |
| Von Wagoner (1999) | Alteration in ion channels | Human | Positive correlation between ICaL measured at the time of surgery and the occurrence of POAF. |
| Brandt (2000) | Alteration in Ion channels | Human | No difference in Ito and a non-significant trend towards a decrease in Ikur between patients with and without POAF. |
| Ad (2001) | Structural alteration | Human | Atrial myolysis and lipofuscin levels identified as an independent histologic finding associated with POAF |
| Goette (2002) | Structural alteration | Human | Amount of atrial fibrosis in association with prolongation of the surface P-wave or ageing correlates with POAF |
| Dobrev (2002) | Alteration in Ion channels | Human | Atrial myocytes of patients developing POAF have no alterations in IK1 and IK,ACH. |
| Ak (2005) | Structural alteration | Human | Degree of atrial myolysis and increased apoptotic pattern are significant predictors for development POAF. |
| Mariscalco (2006) | Structural alteration | Human | Atrial histology is similar in patients undergoing on- or off-pump surgery and is similar before and after CPB. |
| Workman (2006) | Alteration in ion channels | Human | No differences in ICaL, Ito, IK1, and ISUS in right atrial biopsies of patients who do and do not develop POAF |
| Kanagaratnam (2008) | Structural alteration | Human | Only patients with sustained induced AF develop POAF and have prolonged unipolar electrograms. |