Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42340581›Full record

ReviewJournal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing2026

Clinical outcomes after catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation in elderly patients: a meta-analysis with time-to-event data reconstruction.

Ali Saad Al-Shammari, Ahmed Mazen Amin, Ameer Awashra, Khadeeja Ali Hamzah, Yousif Hameed Kurmasha, Hatem Eltaly, Laila Shalabi, Mohamed Ashraf Elzeftawy, Ubaid Khan, Mohamed Elmallahy and 3 more

Erratum issuedAbstract readReview
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In one paragraph

Review in Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. 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

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Ali Saad Al-ShammariDepartment of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, Bab Muadham, Rusafa, 502, Baghdad, Iraq. allawy1234@gmail.com.
Ahmed Mazen AminDepartment of Internal Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.
Ameer AwashraDepartment of Medicine, An Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine.
Khadeeja Ali HamzahDepartment of Internal Medicine, Al-Kindy College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq.
Yousif Hameed KurmashaDepartment of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Kufa, Najaf, Iraq.
Hatem EltalyDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Trinity West Medical Center, Steubenville, OH, USA.
Laila ShalabiDepartment of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Gharyan University, Gharyan, Libya.
Mohamed Ashraf ElzeftawyDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt.
Ubaid KhanDivision of Cardiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Mohamed ElmallahyDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt.
Mohamed AbuelazmDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt.
Haider Al-TaiiDepartment of Cardiology, Aultman Hospital, Canton, OH, USA.
Marwan M RefaatDepartment of Cardiology, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe effect of advanced age on outcomes after catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) remains uncertain. This systematic review and meta-analysis compared long-term efficacy and safety between elderly and non-elderly patients using time-to-event reconstruction.

methodsA comprehensive search of PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science was conducted for comparative studies up to January 2026. The primary outcome was AF recurrence. Secondary outcomes included mortality, stroke, and procedural complications. Pairwise meta-analysis estimated risk ratios (RR), and individual patient-level time-to-event data were reconstructed from Kaplan-Meier curves to calculate hazard ratios (HR).

resultsTwenty-eight studies involving 22,921 patients were included in the analysis. Elderly patients had a significantly higher risk of AF recurrence compared with non-elderly patients (RR 1.174, 95% CI 1.068-1.290; P < 0.001; I

conclusionElderly patients have higher AF recurrence and increased risks of major complications, including mortality and stroke, after catheter ablation, underscoring the need for individualized risk assessment and shared decision-making.

Indexed as

AblationArrhythmiaCardiologyElderly patientsElectrophysiology

Identifiers

PMID42340581

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

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 Socratic graph.