title: Radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation: different approaches.
abstract: The existing literature regarding radiofrequency ablation for the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation was reviewed, analyzing the early and late results. A MEDLINE search supplemented with a manual bibliographic review was performed for all peer-reviewed English language articles regarding the use of radiofrequency ablation for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. Six studies were identified, with a total of 451 patients. None of the studies was completely randomized. All patients underwent radiofrequency ablation as an adjunct to a variety of cardiac surgical procedures. The hospital mortality rate was 2.7%. The overall survival rate was 97.1%, and freedom from atrial fibrillation was 76.3% +/- 5.1% after a mean follow-up period of 13.8 +/- 1.9 months. It was concluded that radiofrequency ablation should be considered a safe and effective means to cure atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing open heart surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Policlinico S. Orsola-Malpighi, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy. bruno_chiappini@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chiappini
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Di Bartolomeo
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Marinelli
mesh_terms: D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000601:surgery*; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D013997:Time Factors