Literature Search
The preliminary literature search yielded 13,022, of which 12,747 were
screened for title and abstract. Consequently 7,159 were assessed for
eligibility and full text screening, which led to the inclusion of 3
studies with a total of 600 participants (13, 14, 15). The PRISMA flow
chart is shown in Figure 1 . The search strategy and the quality
assessment of included studies is summarized in theSupplementary Tables .
Study CharacteristicsThese trials randomly assigned 273 patients to the PVI group and 327 to
the PVI+PWI group. The follow-up period ranged from 1 to 18 months. The
baseline demographics, characteristics, and comorbidities are summarized
in Table 1 . The average age was 68 years in the PVI group, as
compared to 66 years in the PVI+PWI group while 186/273 patients were
male in the PVI group and 220/327 patients were male in the PVI+PWI
group. Out of total study population 466 patients had persistent AF
(continuous AF for > 7 days) and 134 patients had
long-standing persistent AF (continuous AF for > 12
months). Out of 3 studies that we included in our meta-analysis, two
were randomized controlled trials (13, 14). One study was a prospective
non-randomized trial. (15) CBA was performed in both the PVI and PVI+PWI
groups with adjunct radiofrequency ablation (RFA) performed in 2 of the
studies (14, 15).