Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38646912›Full record

Trial reportEuropace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology2024

Comprehensive atrial fibrillation burden and symptom reduction post-ablation: insights from DECAAF II.

Charbel Noujaim, Ala Assaf, Chanho Lim, Han Feng, Hadi Younes, Mario Mekhael, Nour Chouman, Ghaith Shamaileh, Abdel Hadi El Hajjar, Tarek Ayoub and 4 more

Open access · hybridAbstract readRandomized Controlled TrialMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Trial report 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, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed
7.2field-weighted citation impact, top 2% 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

15 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Persistent atrial fibrillation with left atrial low-voltage area: who benefit from additional modification?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 · 2025
    Trial
  2. Residual thromboembolic risk and outcomes of oral anticoagulation discontinuation after atrial fibrillation ablation: a target trial emulation.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 · 2026
    Article
  3. Review
  4. Pre-procedural time spent in atrial fibrillation using intermittent ECG monitoring is associated with arrhythmia recurrence after ablation: the ISOLATION cohort study.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 · 2026
    Article
  5. Review
  6. Controversy: the blanking period after atrial fibrillation ablation is needed and should be maintained.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 · 2025
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Atrial fibrillation burden and symptom, quality of life, and healthcare resource utilization after cryoballoon ablation in persistent atrial fibrillation.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 · 2025
    Article
  9. Review
  10. Editorial: Telemedicine in cardiology.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2025
    Article
  11. Article
  12. Evolution in electrophysiology 100 years after Einthoven: translational and computational innovations in rhythm control of atrial fibrillation.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 · 2024
    Review
  13. Review
  14. Spotlight on the 2024 ESC/EACTS management of atrial fibrillation guidelines: 10 novel key aspects.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 · 2024
    Review
  15. Smartphone app-based approximation of time spent with atrial fibrillation and symptoms in patients after catheter ablation: data from the TeleCheck-AF project.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 · 2024
    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

14 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Charbel NoujaimTulane Research Innovation for Arrhythmia Discovery, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3179-4398
Ala AssafTulane Research Innovation for Arrhythmia Discovery, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6443-798X
Chanho LimTulane Research Innovation for Arrhythmia Discovery, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9998-5601
Han FengTulane Research Innovation for Arrhythmia Discovery, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3163-8931
Hadi YounesTulane Research Innovation for Arrhythmia Discovery, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7202-1164
Mario MekhaelTulane Research Innovation for Arrhythmia Discovery, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-8809-5419
Nour ChoumanTulane Research Innovation for Arrhythmia Discovery, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6624-1590
Ghaith ShamailehTulane Research Innovation for Arrhythmia Discovery, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA, USA.
Abdel Hadi El HajjarTulane Research Innovation for Arrhythmia Discovery, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-4820-8102
Tarek AyoubTulane Research Innovation for Arrhythmia Discovery, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2128-1051
Nino IsakadzeDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5396-2110
Mihail G CheluDepartment of Internal Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9688-1604
Nassir MarroucheTulane Research Innovation for Arrhythmia Discovery, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0454-0541
Eoin DonnellanTulane Research Innovation for Arrhythmia Discovery, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2878-9061
Tulane University · USBaylor College of Medicine · USJohns Hopkins University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimsTraditional atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence after catheter ablation is reported as a binary outcome. However, a paradigm shift towards a more granular definition, considering arrhythmic or symptomatic burden, is emerging. We hypothesize that ablation reduces AF burden independently of conventional recurrence status in patients with persistent AF, correlating with symptom burden reduction. METHODS AND

resultsNinety-eight patients with persistent AF from the DECAAF II trial with pre-ablation follow-up were included. Patients recorded daily single-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) strips, defining AF burden as the proportion of AF days among total submitted ECG days. The primary outcome was atrial arrhythmia recurrence. The AF severity scale was administered pre-ablation and at 12 months post-ablation. At follow-up, 69 patients had atrial arrhythmia recurrence and 29 remained in sinus rhythm. These patients were categorized into a recurrence (n = 69) and a no-recurrence group (n = 29). Both groups had similar baseline characteristics, but recurrence patients were older (P = 0.005), had a higher prevalence of hyperlipidaemia (P = 0.007), and had a larger left atrial (LA) volume (P = 0.01). There was a reduction in AF burden in the recurrence group when compared with their pre-ablation burden (65 vs. 15%, P < 0.0001). Utah Stage 4 fibrosis and diabetes predicted less improvement in AF burden. The symptom severity score at 12 months post-ablation was significantly reduced compared with the pre-ablation score in the recurrence group, and there was a significant correlation between the reduction in symptom severity score and the reduction in AF burden (R = 0.39, P = 0.001).

conclusionCatheter ablation reduces AF burden, irrespective of arrhythmia recurrence post-procedure. There is a strong correlation between AF burden reduction and symptom improvement post-ablation. Notably, elevated LA fibrosis impedes AF burden decrease following catheter ablation.

Indexed as

Atrial FibrillationCatheter AblationRecurrenceAgedElectrocardiographyFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedProspective StudiesRisk FactorsSeverity of Illness IndexTime FactorsTreatment OutcomeAF burdenAF symptomsAtrial fibrillationCatheter ablationFibrosisSmartphone ECG

Identifiers

PMID38646912
PMCPMC11077606
OpenAlexW4395003064

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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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.