Xiaoliang Hu1, Jingzhou Jiang1, Yuedong Ma1, Anli Tang2. 1. Department of Cardiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China. 2. Department of Cardiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: huxl3@mail2.sysu.edu.cn.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The benefits and risks of additional left atrium (LA) linear ablation in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) remain unclear. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials were identified in the PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane databases, and the relevant papers were examined. Pooled relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were estimated using random effects models. The primary endpoint was the maintenance of sinus rhythm after a single ablation. RESULTS: Nine randomized controlled trials involving 1138 patients were included in this analysis. Additional LA linear ablation did not improve the maintenance of the sinus rhythm following a single procedure (RR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.93-1.13; P=0.60). A subgroup analysis demonstrated that all methods of additional linear ablation failed to improve the outcome. Additional linear ablation significantly increased the mean procedural time (166.53±67.7 vs. 139.57±62.44min, P<0.001), the mean fluoroscopy time (54.56±38.7 vs. 44.32±31.6min, P<0.001) and the mean radiofrequency (RF) energy application time (78.94±28.39 vs. 59.74±22.38min, P<0.001). No statistically significant differences in the rates of complications were noted (RR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.27-1.19; P=0.13). CONCLUSIONS: Additional LA linear ablation did not exhibit any benefits in terms of sinus rhythm maintenance for paroxysmal AF patients following a single procedure. Additional linear ablation significantly increased the mean procedural, fluoroscopy and RF application times. This additional ablation was not associated with a statistically significant increase in complication rates. This finding must be confirmed by further large, high-quality clinical trials.
BACKGROUND: The benefits and risks of additional left atrium (LA) linear ablation in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) remain unclear. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials were identified in the PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane databases, and the relevant papers were examined. Pooled relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were estimated using random effects models. The primary endpoint was the maintenance of sinus rhythm after a single ablation. RESULTS: Nine randomized controlled trials involving 1138 patients were included in this analysis. Additional LA linear ablation did not improve the maintenance of the sinus rhythm following a single procedure (RR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.93-1.13; P=0.60). A subgroup analysis demonstrated that all methods of additional linear ablation failed to improve the outcome. Additional linear ablation significantly increased the mean procedural time (166.53±67.7 vs. 139.57±62.44min, P<0.001), the mean fluoroscopy time (54.56±38.7 vs. 44.32±31.6min, P<0.001) and the mean radiofrequency (RF) energy application time (78.94±28.39 vs. 59.74±22.38min, P<0.001). No statistically significant differences in the rates of complications were noted (RR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.27-1.19; P=0.13). CONCLUSIONS: Additional LA linear ablation did not exhibit any benefits in terms of sinus rhythm maintenance for paroxysmal AFpatients following a single procedure. Additional linear ablation significantly increased the mean procedural, fluoroscopy and RF application times. This additional ablation was not associated with a statistically significant increase in complication rates. This finding must be confirmed by further large, high-quality clinical trials.
Authors: Andrew Cluckey; Alexander C Perino; Fahd N Yunus; George C Leef; Mariam Askari; Paul A Heidenreich; Sanjiv M Narayan; Paul J Wang; Mintu P Turakhia Journal: J Am Heart Assoc Date: 2019-01-08 Impact factor: 5.501