Impact of Routine Postoperative Care Versus Nurse-Led Lifestyle Interventions on Patient Outcomes After Radiofrequency Ablation: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Fan Yang, Yao Wu
PMID 40241434WHAT IT FOUND
After radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation, patients receiving a nurse-led lifestyle intervention added to usual care reported better quality of life and less AF recurrence at 12 months, and had fewer postprocedure complications.
Key findings
01At 12 months after radiofrequency ablation, AF recurrence was lower in the nurse-led lifestyle intervention group than in the usual-care group (12.5% vs 26.3%, P = .021).
02SF-36 quality of life scores were significantly higher in the nurse-led group than in usual care at 6 and 12 months across physical functioning, role limitations, vitality, general health, and social functioning.
03Total postprocedure complications were lower in the nurse-led group than in usual care (15% vs 31.25%, P = .034), including vagal reflexes (3.8% vs 10.0%, P = .044) and puncture site bleeding (6.3% vs 13.8%, P = .037); difficulty urinating was not different (5.0% vs 7.5%, P = .524).
STILL TO COME
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What it does not show
The trial was single-center and used convenience sampling, so the results may not apply to other settings or patients. The sample size was relatively small. Patients with severe comorbidities, such as end-stage heart failure or advanced cancer, were excluded. Patients and healthcare providers were not blinded, which can affect self-reported quality of life and complication reporting. The nurse-led intervention was a multidisciplinary bundle added to usual care, including personalized health guidance, exercise management, psychological support, dietary adjustments, and medication adherence advice, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. The paper reports 160 randomized patients but does not report dropout numbers, missing data handling, or whether all patients completed 12-month follow-up. Employment status, economic status, occupation, and living environment were not measured or adjusted for. Follow-up was limited to 12 months, so longer-term effects are not shown. Postprocedure complications were secondary outcomes, not the primary outcome.
Declared interests
The paper states no funding. It does not report a conflict-of-interest declaration.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that nurse-led lifestyle care alone caused the better outcomes. The intervention was added to usual care and included personalized health guidance, exercise management, psychological support, dietary adjustments, and medication adherence advice. The contribution of any single component cannot be separated.