ArticleEuropace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology2023
Pulsed electric field, cryoballoon, and radiofrequency for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation ablation: a propensity score-matched comparison.
Article in 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, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 76 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
76 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 100 citations in OpenAlex.
- Safety and efficacy of the pulsed field ablation for persistent atrial fibrillation: a meta-analysis.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2026Pooled it
- Pulsed field ablation versus cryoballoon ablation for pulmonary vein isolation in atrial fibrillation: a systematic review and meta-analysis with subgroup analyses by AF type.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2026Pooled it
- Meta-analysis of the safety and efficacy between pulsed field ablation vs. traditional ablation for persistent atrial fibrillation.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy and Safety of Pulsed-Field Versus High-Power Short-Duration Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis With Reconstructed Time-to-Event Data.Journal of cardiovascular electrophysiology · 2025Pooled it
- Meta-Analysis of Thermal Versus Pulse Field Ablation for Pulmonary Vein Isolation Durability in Atrial Fibrillation: Insights From Repeat Ablation.Clinical cardiology · 2025Pooled it
- Pulsed field ablation for atrial fibrillation: a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of research trends and emerging Frontiers.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Multielectrode catheter-based pulsed electric field vs. cryoballoon for atrial fibrillation ablation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.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 · 2024Pooled it
- Using computed tomography atrial myocardial thickness maps in cryoballoon pulmonary vein isolation: the UTMOST AF II randomized clinical trial.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 · 2024Trial
- Personalized pulmonary vein isolation with very high-power short-duration lesions guided by left atrial wall thickness: the QDOT-by-LAWT randomized trial.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 · 2024Trial
- Treatment of paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation with pulsed field ablation.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 · 2026Review
- A Comparison of Safety and Outcome Using Three Different Sedation Strategies During Pulsed Field Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation.Journal of cardiovascular electrophysiology · 2026Article
- Characteristics of Recurrent Atrial Arrhythmias and Lesion Assessment Late After Pulsed Field Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation.Circulation. Arrhythmia and electrophysiology · 2026Article
- High-pass filtering sharpens local signal discrimination by attenuating far-field potentials in VARIPULSE Mapping.Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing · 2026Article
- Pulsed Field Ablation with the Pentaspline Catheter vs Radiofrequency Ablation for Recurrent Atrial Fibrillation.CJC open · 2026Article
- Pulsed Field Ablation Versus Thermal Ablation for First-Time Pulmonary Vein Isolation in Atrial Fibrillation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of arrhythmia · 2026Article
- Pulsed electric field for pulmonary vein isolation in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation: A multicenter experience comparing pentaspline and lattice-tip catheters.Heart rhythm O2 · 2026Article
- Beyond speed: why "skin-to-skin" time should not define quality in atrial fibrillation ablation.Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing · 2026Review
- Comparative spatiotemporal neuromodulation effect between pulsed field and cryoballoon ablation for atrial fibrillation.Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing · 2026Article
- A network meta-analysis of comparative effectiveness and safety of pulsed field, radiofrequency, and cryoballoon ablation for atrial fibrillation.Heart rhythm O2 · 2026Article
- Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion Versus Direct Oral Anticoagulation in Atrial Fibrillation Patients at Very High Risk of Stroke: A Budget Impact Analysis in Italy.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
16 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
29 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsPulsed field ablation (PFA) has emerged as a novel, non-thermal energy source to selectively ablate cardiac tissue. We describe a multicentre experience on pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) via the pentaspline Farapulse™ PFA system vs. thermal-based technologies in a propensity score-matched population of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) patients. METHODS AND
resultsPropensity score matching was adopted to compare PVI-only ablation outcomes via the Farawave™ system (Group PFA), cryoballoon (Group CRYO), or focal radiofrequency (Group RF) (PFA:CRYO:RF ratio = 1:2:2). Among 1572 (mean age: 62.4 ± 11.3 years; 42.5% females) PAF patients undergoing first time PVI with either PFA (n = 174), CRYO (n = 655), or RF (n = 743), propensity score matching yielded 174 PFA, 348 CRYO, and 348 RF patients. First-pass isolation was achieved in 98.8% of pulmonary veins (PVs) with PFA, 81.5% with CRYO, and 73.1% with RF (P < 0.001). Procedural and dwell times were significantly shorter with PFA, whereas the availability of a 3D mapping system led to a significant reduction in X-ray exposure with RF. Overall complication rates were 3.4% (n = 6) with PFA, 8.6% (n = 30) with CRYO, and 5.5% (n = 19) with RF (P = 0.052). The 1-year Kaplan-Meier estimated freedom from any atrial tachyarrhythmia was 79.3% with PFA, 74.7% with CRYO, and 72.4% with RF (log-rank P-value: 0.24). Among 145 repeat ablation procedures, PV reconnection rate was 19.1% after PFA, 27.5% after CRYO, and 34.8% after RF (P = 0.01).
conclusionPulsed field ablation contributed to significantly shorter procedural times. Follow-up data showed a similar arrhythmia freedom, although a higher rate of PV reconnection was documented in post-CRYO and post-RF redo procedures.
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