Annals of emergency medicine
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Emergency department (ED) patients with atrial fibrillation or flutter are at risk of stroke, and guidelines recommend anticoagulation for patients with increased cardiovascular risk. Emergency physicians have a unique opportunity to provide appropriate anticoagulation for such patients, and we wished to investigate whether this was accomplished. ⋯ In this cohort of ED patients with uncomplicated atrial fibrillation or flutter who were discharged without cardiology involvement, many were not appropriately anticoagulated before ED arrival, and more than half of such patients did not appear to have corrective measures initiated by the emergency physician. This may represent a potential opportunity to improve patient care and outcomes.