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However, comparative data between PFA and thermal ablation (TA, including cryoballoon ablation [CBA] and radiofrequency ablation [RFA]) for persistent AF (PerAF) remain limited.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A systematic search was conducted in the Medline, PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases to include all relevant studies that compared PFA with TA.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Six trials involving 1610 patients were included in the study. Pooled analyses revealed that PFA exerted significant advantages over TA, characterized by lower recurrence of atrial tachyarrhythmias (ATAs) (risk ratio [RR]: 0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.70 to 0.97;\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.02), especially for AF recurrence (RR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.65 to 0.95;\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.015). Furthermore, PFA significantly reduced procedural time (standard mean difference [SMD]: \u22121.25; 95% CI: \u22121.87 to \u2212\u20090.64;\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&lt;\u20090.00001) and left atrial dwell (LAD) time (SMD: \u221214.21; 95% CI: \u221227.60 to \u2212\u20090.82;\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.04). No significant differences were observed between the two groups regarding fluoroscopy time and complications.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>PFA is effective and safe for PerAF treatment, featuring shorter procedure time, LAD time and lower ATAs recurrence.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s12872-026-05868-9","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,12]],"date-time":"2026-05-12T11:24:54Z","timestamp":1778585094000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Safety and efficacy of the pulsed field ablation for persistent atrial fibrillation: a meta-analysis"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"26","author":[{"given":"Hui","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qin","family":"Cui","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Weiping","family":"Tao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qinghua","family":"Qiu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jiadong","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aiwu","family":"Guo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"5868_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"196","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jacc.2014.10.034","volume":"65","author":"H Kottkamp","year":"2015","unstructured":"Kottkamp H, Bender R, Berg J. 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