Sedation vs. general anaesthesia in patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing catheter ablation: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Catheter ablation is the standard treatment for symptomatic atrial fibrillation (AF) and can be performed under general anaesthesia (GA) or varying levels of sedation to optimize patient comfort and lesion formation. However, the effect of different anaesthesia strategies on AF recurrence rates remains uncertain.

We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and ClinicalTrials.gov for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies comparing outcomes of catheter ablation under GA vs. sedation (including deep, moderate, and conscious sedation). We pooled risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) with a random effects model. R version 4.4.1 was used for statistical analyses. Our systematic review and meta-analysis included 6 RCTs and 17 observational studies, corresponding to 12 302 patients assigned to either sedation (n = 8952) or GA (n = 3350). There was no difference in recurrence of atrial tachyarrhythmias (ATAs) between groups (RR 1.15; 95% CI 0.97–1.36; P = 0.10; 95% prediction interval 0.66–2.01). There was no significant subgroup interaction in the recurrence of AF according to sedation type (conscious vs. mild vs. moderate sedation vs. deep sedation) (P = 0.20) or AF type (persistent AF vs. non-persistent) (P = 0.20).

In patients undergoing catheter ablation for AF, there was no significant difference in recurrence of ATA between GA and sedation.