Is Atrial Fibrillation Noninducibility by Burst Pacing After Catheter Ablation Associated With Reduced Clinical Recurrence?: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

BACKGROUND: To date, there is no cumulative evidence supporting the association of atrial fibrillation (AF) noninducibility after ablation and freedom from AF. We performed a systematic review and meta‐analysis to determine whether AF noninducibility by burst pacing after catheter ablation is associated with reduced AF recurrence. METHODS AND RESULTS: We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases through July 2019 to identify studies that evaluated AF noninducibility versus inducibility by burst pacing after catheter ablation for freedom from AF. A fixed effects model was used to estimate relative risk (RR) with 95% CIs. Twelve prospective cohort studies with AF noninducibility (n=1612) and inducibility (n=1160) were included. Compared with AF inducibility, AF noninducibility by burst pacing after ablation was associated with a reduced risk of AF recurrence (RR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.60–0.77). Subgroup analysis showed that different AF types (paroxysmal AF and nonparoxysmal AF), different follow‐up times (≤6, 6–12, and >12 months), and different degrees of burst pacing (mild, moderate, severe) had no significant impact on the RRs. However, different cut‐off times for AF inducibility had a significant impact on the RR (P (interaction)=0.009), and only the cut‐off time of 1 minute showed a significant correlation (RR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.45–0.66). CONCLUSIONS: AF noninducibility by burst pacing after catheter ablation is associated with reduced clinical recurrence of AF. Induction protocols with a different cut‐off time for AF inducibility have a significant impact on the correlation, and the AF ≥1 minute for AF inducibility is recommended.