Atrial Fibrillation After Resection (AFAR)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Atrial Fibrillation After Resection (AFAR): A PROGRESS III Study
IRAS ID
261310
Contact name
Matthew Lee
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS FT
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 8 months, 30 days
Research summary
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an irregular heart beat which can cause symptoms such as shortness of breath and dizziness. It can lead to an increased risk of a blood clot and stroke and is more common in older people. AF occurs in 12-15% of patients following abdominal surgery and is associated with a longer hospital stay and increased risk of stroke within 30 days. Cases of AF post-surgery are likely to increase, as the surgical population is aging.
The diagnosis and treatment of AF is currently focussed on the prevention of complications, which brings with it a burden of drugs and side-effects. Despite therapy, around 10% of patients with AF will suffer a major adverse event such as stroke, heart attack or death within 5 years of diagnosis. Even where major events do not occur, 92% of patients will suffer from significant symptoms from AF. Beyond physical symptoms, anxiety and depression are seen frequently in this patient group and patients have a worse quality of life compared to healthy people. Understanding the risks factors for the development of AF is important. This could enable clinicians to treat a patient before their operation to prevent AF from developing.
This study will determine how many patients have AF and how many develop it after they have undergone colorectal cancer surgery. The patient will be tested for AF before their operation, and at 30 and 90 days after their operation using a 24h heart rhythm monitor. Complications of AF and health services used will be reported. This is a national study involving up to 15 colorectal cancer surgical centres, recruiting 720 patients. The study is funded by the NIHR Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB).
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/EM/0257
Date of REC Opinion
7 Aug 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion