Statistical analysis
Continuous data were presented as the mean± standard deviation. Continuous variables were compared by means of 1-way ANOVA and post hoc analysis with Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons of data if normally distributed, or the Kruskal-Wallis test, if skewed. Categorical variables were analyzed with the Fisher’s exact test. To compare the rhythm outcome between the PLS ablation and conventional ablation, age, gender, left atrial diameter (LAD), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and creatinine level matched conventional ablation group were selected as a conventional ablation group. The cumulative incidence of AF recurrence was determined by the Kaplan-Meier method. The survival analysis between PLS ablation group and conventional ablation group was performed using a log-rank test. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios and 95% CIs for AF recurrence. Variables in the multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression model included each ablation strategy, age, gender, LAD and LVEF with P<0.05 using unadjusted Cox proportional hazard regression analysis. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios and 95% CIs for AF termination. A value of p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. All statistical analyses were performed using EZR on R commander, version 1.36 or SPSS, Release 24 software (SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA).
Results