Comparative effectiveness of wide antral versus ostial pulmonary vein isolation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: For the past decade, electric pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) has become a procedure implemented worldwide for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. Currently, 2 main approaches are used for PVI: ostial isolation of the PVs and wide antral PVI. The aims of this systematic review are to evaluate the relative merits of each technique with a pooled comparative analysis of efficacy and complications. METHODS AND RESULTS: Studies were identified by searching electronic databases for studies on ostial versus antral PVI. Information was extracted from each included trial. Odds ratio was the primary measure of treatment effect or side effects. The proportion of patients with recurrences of atrial fibrillation or other atrial tachyarrhythmias was evaluated at the end of the follow-up periods in 12 trials, including 1183 patients. The recurrence rate of total supraventricular arrhythmias was significantly lower in wide antral than in segmental PVI group (odds ratio, 0.42; 95% confidence interval, 0.32-0.56; P<0.00001). Atrial fibrillation recurrence was significantly lower in the wide antral group (odds ratio, 0.33; 95% confidence interval, 0.24-0.46; P<0,00001). A trend toward a higher incidence of left atrial tachycardia occurrence in the wide antral circumferential ablation group was detected, which did not reach statistical significance (odds ratio, 1.53; 95% confidence interval, 0.88-2.69; P=0.13). CONCLUSIONS: Our primary finding is that PVI performed with a wide antral approach is more effective than ostial PVI in achieving freedom from total atrial tachyarrhythmia recurrence at long-term follow-up.

Can cardiac resynchronization therapy improve cognitive function? A systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Cognitive impairment (CI) comprises a measurable deficit of different cognitive domains (memory, attention, problem solving, and motor speed), and has a high prevalence among congestive heart failure (CHF) patients. Only a few pilot studies have investigated the effects of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) on cognitive performance. The purpose of this systematic review is to outline and evaluate results of published studies that assess the impact of CRT on neuropsychological function in CHF. METHODS: Electronic databases were searched for articles containing the following terms: CRT, cognition, cognitive, and neurocognitive. A data extraction was performed according to our objective from each study. Effect sizes were computed using Hedges' g. The within-group formula was used for cohort studies with a pre-post design, while the between-group formula was used for studies that compared independent groups. Multiple outcomes were combined in domain-specific synthetic scores as well as in a global score for each study, and a fixed-effect model was used to estimate the summary effects. RESULTS: Only three studies met criteria for inclusion in the analysis. The results of these studies were discordant and methodological limitations were identified. The meta-analysis of cognitive outcomes showed a nonsignificant overall effect (Hedges' g = 0.131, 95% confidence interval: -0.16 to 0.422), while the summary effects on executive functioning and attention reached statistical significance (Hedges' g = 0.374, 95% confidence interval: 0.085-0.662 and Hedges' g = 0.343, 95% confidence interval: 0.051-0.635, respectively). CONCLUSION: CI and related negative consequences have been largely documented in patients with heart failure but very few studies have assessed the plausible benefits of CRT on patients' cognitive function. Despite the statistical significance of the domain-specific pooled effects, their validity and clinical relevance is lacking due to methodological limitations.