'Replace uncertainty with information': shared decision-making and decision quality surrounding catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation.
Meghan Reading Turchioe, Sabrina Mangal, Jessica S Ancker and 3 others
PMID 36031860WHAT IT FOUND
Patients after atrial fibrillation ablation often felt uninformed and uncertain about risks, benefits, medication stopping, and recurrence.
Clinicians described thorough counseling, but no routine decision aids. Participants recommended accessible, translated decision aids.
Key findings
01Many patients reported a vague understanding of ablation details and limited agency in the decision.
02No patient described using a decision aid, and clinicians reported no routinely provided ablation decision materials.
03Participants recommended accessible, translated decision aids.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 15 patients and 5 clinicians from one hospital were interviewed, so the themes may not apply to other settings or patient groups. Interviews happened up to 18 months after the ablation decision, so patients may have forgotten details or changed how they viewed the choice. Patients who considered ablation but did not have it were not interviewed, so the study may miss uncertain or negative experiences. The study did not test a decision aid or any intervention, so it cannot show that adding one improves knowledge, decisions, or outcomes.
Declared interests
The conflict disclosure says no other authors have interests to disclose. It does not give a funder or sponsor statement in the supplied text, although the article is tagged as NIH extramural research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that a decision aid improves ablation decisions or patient outcomes. This study did not test a decision aid; it only described gaps in information and what patients and clinicians said they would want.