SynthesisPloS one2021
Discontinuation of oral anticoagulation therapy after successful atrial fibrillation ablation: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Clinical outcomes of continuing vs. discontinuing oral anticoagulation after atrial fibrillation ablation: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies and randomized controlled trials.Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology · 2026Pooled it
- Hybrid convergent ablation versus endocardial catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised control trials and propensity matched studies.Journal of cardiothoracic surgery · 2022Pooled it
- Prevention of cerebral thromboembolism by oral anticoagulation with dabigatran after pulmonary vein isolation for atrial fibrillation: the ODIn-AF trial.Clinical research in cardiology : official journal of the German Cardiac Society · 2024Trial
- Optimal duration of anticoagulation after successful catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation: insights from recent randomized trials.Communications medicine · 2026Article
- Discontinuation of Oral Anticoagulation After Successful Atrial Fibrillation Ablation - Are We Ready to Change Clinical Practice in 2026?Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2026Review
- Recent-onset atrial fibrillation: challenges and opportunities.European heart journal · 2026Review
- Discontinuing Oral Anticoagulation after Atrial Fibrillation Ablation: Time for a Paradigm Shift?US cardiology · 2026Review
- Uncharted Waters: The OCEAN Trial and the Expanding Indications for AF Ablation.European cardiology · 2026Article
- Assessment of Long-Term Use Versus Discontinuation of Direct Oral Anticoagulant After Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation-RYOUMA Registry Subanalysis.Annals of noninvasive electrocardiology : the official journal of the International Society for Holter and Noninvasive Electrocardiology, Inc · 2025Observational
- Discontinuation of Oral Anticoagulants in Atrial Fibrillation Patients: Impact of Treatment Strategy and on Patients' Health Status.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Antithrombotic management in left sided- ablation and appendage device-closure procedures.Indian pacing and electrophysiology journalReview
- Decoding the evidence: A synopsis of indications and evidence for catheter ablation in atrial fibrillation (Review).Medicine internationalReview
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe safety of discontinuing oral anticoagulant (OAC) therapy after atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation remains controversial. A meta-analysis was performed to assess the safety and feasibility of discontinuing OAC therapy after successful AF ablation.
methodsPubMed and Embase were searched up to October 2020 for prospective cohort studies that reported the risk of thromboembolism (TE) after successful AF ablation in off-OAC and on-OAC groups. The primary outcome was the incidence of TE events. The Mantel-Haenszel method with random-effects modeling was used to calculate pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
resultsA total of 11,148 patients (7,160 in the off-OAC group and 3,988 in the on-OAC group) from 10 studies were included to meta-analysis. No significant difference in TE between both groups was observed (OR, 0.73; 95%CI, 0.51-1.05; I2 = 0.0%). The risk of major bleeding in off-OAC group was significantly lower compared to the on-OAC group (OR, 0.18; 95%CI, 0.07-0.51; I2 = 51.7%).
conclusionsOur study suggests that it may be safe to discontinue OAC therapy in patients after successful AF ablation. Additionally, an increased risk of major bleeding was observed in patients on OAC. However, the results of this meta-analysis should be interpreted with caution because of the heterogeneity among the included study designs. Large-scale and adequately powered randomized controlled trials are warranted to confirm these findings.
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Registered trials
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.