Oxford University Press, EP Europace, Supplement_1(24), 2022
DOI: 10.1093/europace/euac053.269
Oxford University Press, EP Europace, 2(25), p. 450-459, 2022
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Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a global health problem with high morbidity and mortality. Catheter ablation (CA) can reduce AF burden and symptoms, but AF recurrence (AFr) remains an issue. Simple AFr predictors like P-wave duration (PWD) could help improve AF therapy. Purpose This updated meta-analysis reviews the increasing evidence for the association of AFr with PWD and offers practical implications. Methods Publication databases were systematically searched and cohort studies reporting PWD and/or morphology at baseline and AFr after CA were included. Complete interatrial block (cIAB) was defined as PWD≥120 ms and biphasic morphology in inferior leads. Random-effects analysis was performed using the Review Manager 5.3 and R programs after study selection, quality assessment and data extraction, to report odds ratio (OR) and confidence intervals (CI). Results Among 4175 patients in 22 studies, 1138 (27%) experienced AFr. Patients with AFr had longer PWD with a mean pooled difference of 7.8 ms (19 studies, p<0.001)(Figure 1). Pooled OR was 2.04 (1.16-3.58) for PWD>120 ms (13 studies, p=0.01), 2.42 (1.12-5.21) for PWD>140 ms (2 studies, p=0.02), 3.97 (1.79-8.85) for cIAB (6 studies, p<0.001) and 10.89 (4.53-26.15) for PWD>150 ms (2 studies, p<0.001)(Figure 2). There was significant heterogeneity but no publication bias detected. Conclusion PWD is an independent predictor for AF recurrence after LA ablation. The AFr risk is increasing exponentially with PWD prolongation. This could facilitate risk-stratification by identifying high-risk patients (cIAB, PWD>150 ms) and adjusting follow-up or interventions.