Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30539701›Full record

SynthesisCurrent cardiology reviews2019

Cryoballoon Ablation for the Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation: A Meta-analysis.

Nirav Patel, Krunalkumar Patel, Abhishek Shenoy, William L Baker, Amgad N Makaryus, Nabil El-Sherif

Open access · greenAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Current cardiology reviews, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.2field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Comparative safety and effectiveness of cryoballoon versus radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The Egyptian heart journal : (EHJ) : official bulletin of the Egyptian Society of Cardiology · 2025
    Review
  5. Global Research Progress on Radiofrequency Ablation in Cardiology.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2025
    Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Comparative efficacy and safety of catheter ablation interventions for atrial fibrillation: comprehensive network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing · 2021
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.

Nirav PatelDivision of Cardiology, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, CT, United States.
Krunalkumar PatelDivision of Cardiology, North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, NY, United States.
Abhishek ShenoyDivision of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States.
William L BakerDivision of Cardiology, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, CT, United States.
Amgad N MakaryusDepartment of Cardiology, Nassau University Medical Center, East Meadow, NY, United States.
Nabil El-SherifDivision of Cardiology, Brooklyn VA Center, Brooklyn, NY, United States.
Hartford Hospital · USBrooklyn Hospital Center · USNassau University Medical Center · USNorth Shore University Hospital · USUniversity of Virginia · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAblation therapy is the treatment of choice in antiarrhythmic drugrefractory atrial fibrillation (AF). It is performed by either cryoballoon ablation (CBA) or radiofrequency ablation. CBA is gaining popularity due to simplicity with similar efficacy and complication rate compared with RFA. In this meta-analysis, we compare the recurrence rate of AF and the complications from CBA versus RFA for the treatment of AF.

methodsWe systematically searched PubMed for the articles that compared the outcome of interest. The primary outcome was to compare the recurrence rate of AF between CBA and RFA. We also included subgroup analysis with complications of pericardial effusion, phrenic nerve palsy and cerebral microemboli following ablation therapy.

resultsA total of 24 studies with 3527 patients met our predefined inclusion criteria. Recurrence of AF after CBA or RFA was similar in both groups (RR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.65, 1.07; I2=48%, Cochrane p=0.16). In subgroup analysis, heterogeneity was less in paroxysmal AF (I2=0%, Cochrane p=0.46) compared to mixed AF (I2=72%, Cochrane p=0.003). Procedure and fluoroscopy time was less by 26.37 and 5.94 minutes respectively in CBA compared to RFA. Complications, pericardial effusion, and silent cerebral microemboli, were not different between the two groups, however, phrenic nerve palsy was exclusively present only in CBA group.

conclusionThis study confirms that the effectiveness of CBA is similar to RFA in the treatment of AF with the added advantages of shorter procedure and fluoroscopy times.

Indexed as

Atrial FibrillationCatheter AblationCryosurgeryFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedTreatment OutcomeAtrial fibrillationcryoballoon ablationmeta-analysispericardial effusionphrenic nerve palsyradiofrequency ablationsilent cerebral microemboli.

Identifiers

PMID30539701
PMCPMC6719384
OpenAlexW2905000682

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.