Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42523884›Full record

SynthesisFrontiers in cardiovascular medicine2026

Rhythm vs. rate control for treatment of postoperative atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Mohammad S Dairi, Mohammed Tarabzoni, Christopher Tarola, Herman Sehmbi, Hassan Alwafi, Saeed M Alghamdi, Sariya Khan, Waleed Talal Alotaibi, Ahmed F Hegazy

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

9 authors.

Mohammad S DairiDepartment of Medicine, College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
Mohammed TarabzoniCardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery Department, King Salman Heart Centre, King Fahad Medical City (KFMC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Christopher TarolaDepartment of Surgery, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Herman SehmbiDepartment of Anesthesia, Waterloo Regional Health Network, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Hassan AlwafiDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
Saeed M AlghamdiClinical Technology Department, Respiratory Care Program, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
Sariya KhanGeneral Medicine Practice Program, Batterjee Medical College, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Waleed Talal AlotaibiDepartment of Medicine, College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
Ahmed F HegazyDivision of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, ON, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: We aimed to compare the clinical impact of treatment with a rhythm control strategy to a rate control strategy in postcardiac surgery atrial fibrillation patients. Methods: A comprehensive search of MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest Dissertations, and ClinicalTrials.gov was conducted from inception to October 2025. Our meta-analysis included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing therapeutic rhythm control interventions with rate control interventions. We used the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool to appraise the quality of included RCTs, the GRADE framework to evaluate the strength of the evidence, and adhered to the PRISMA guidelines for reporting. Results: Eight RCTs ( Conclusion: Among postcardiac surgery patients with new-onset atrial fibrillation, there was no evidence that a rhythm control treatment strategy resulted in better outcomes than a rate control strategy. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42019128559, identifier CRD42019128559.

Indexed as

cardiac surgerymeta-analysisnew-onset atrial fibrillationpostoperative atrial fibrillationrate controlrhythm controlsystematic review

Identifiers

PMID42523884
PMCPMC13407837

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.