Same-Day Discharge Versus Overnight Stay After Catheter Ablation: An Observational Matched-Cohort Study on Safety and Feasibility.

Authors

Sorin S Popescu, Felix Behn, Charlotte Eitel, Jan-Per Wenzel, Sascha Hatahet, Roman Mamaev, Bianca I Popescu, Anna Traub, Suzanne de Waha, Julia Vogler, Christian-H Heeger, Mirco Küchler, Karl-H Kuck, Roland R Tilz

Published in

Deutsches Arzteblatt international. Volume 123. Issue 22. Oct 30, 2026. Epub Oct 30, 2026.

Abstract

Catheter ablation is an established therapy for arrhythmias. As the incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF) rises, the associated burden on the health-care system is expected to increase. Same-day discharge (SDD) may help optimize resource utilization and increase patient comfort and satisfaction.
Consecutive patients undergoing SDD electrophysiology procedures were prospectively enrolled in the study and compared in a non-randomized manner with consecutive overnight stay (ONS) patients who were matched to them according to procedure type. SDD patients were evaluated on the day after the procedure. SDD Patients who were not discharged on the day of the procedure were excluded. Baseline, periprocedural, and 30-day outcomes were documented and compared.
100 patients underwent SDD electrophysiology procedures from September 2022 to March 2025. The SDD patients were younger and had a lower prevalence of coronary artery disease and chronic kidney disease than their counterparts in the ONS cohort. The most common procedure was AF ablation. Procedural complications arose in 2% (95% confidence interval: [0.6; 7.0]) vs. 6% [2.8; 12.5] in SDD and ONS patients, respectively, p =0.279. Complications up to the day of discharge, or up to the evaluation on post-procedure day 1 in the SDD group were reported in 10% [5.5; 17.4] and 17% [10.9, 25.6] of patients, respectively, p = 0.214. Complications were identified on post-procedure day 1 in 8 SDD patients, none of whom needed to be readmitted to the hospital. The numbers of emergency room consultations, unplanned outpatient visits, and rehospitalizations were similar in the two groups. In a subsequent analysis from January to May 2026, 85.8% of patients scheduled for SDD ablation were successfully discharged on the day of the procedure.
In this prospective study, SDD after electrophysiology procedures was found to be a safe alternative to ONS in selected patients. None of the patients who were discharged on the same day as the procedure needed to be rehospitalized on the day after.

PMID:
42634856
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 24 Aug 2026.

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