{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]],"date-time":"2026-07-14T06:05:43Z","timestamp":1784009143229,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]],"date-time":"2026-07-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783987200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Cardiovasc. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We aimed to compare the clinical impact of treatment with a rhythm control strategy to a rate control strategy in postcardiac surgery atrial fibrillation patients.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A comprehensive search of MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest Dissertations, and ClinicalTrials.gov was conducted from inception to October 2025. Our meta-analysis included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing therapeutic rhythm control interventions with rate control interventions. We used the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool to appraise the quality of included RCTs, the GRADE framework to evaluate the strength of the evidence, and adhered to the PRISMA guidelines for reporting.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Eight RCTs (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u2009894 patients) met the inclusion criteria. There was no difference in hospital length of stay (4 RCTs) between rhythm control and rate control [MD: \u22120.41 days (95% CI: \u22123.23, 2.42)]. An aggressive rhythm control strategy (ibutilide, procainamide, propafenone, or electric cardioversion) was associated with higher odds of in-hospital conversion to sinus rhythm [OR: 4.01 (95% CI: 1.30, 12.39)] and a higher risk of medication-related adverse events (hypotension, bradycardia, and syncope) [RR: 3.05 (95% CI: 1.05, 8.89)].\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Among postcardiac surgery patients with new-onset atrial fibrillation, there was no evidence that a rhythm control treatment strategy resulted in better outcomes than a rate control strategy.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Systematic Review Registration<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      <jats:ext-link>https:\/\/www.crd.york.ac.uk\/PROSPERO\/view\/CRD42019128559<\/jats:ext-link>\n                      , identifier CRD42019128559.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fcvm.2026.1820175","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]],"date-time":"2026-07-14T05:39:26Z","timestamp":1784007566000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Rhythm vs. rate control for treatment of postoperative atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Mohammad S.","family":"Dairi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University","place":["Makkah, Saudi 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Umm Al-Qura University","place":["Makkah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Saeed M.","family":"Alghamdi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Technology Department, Respiratory Care Program, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University","place":["Makkah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sariya","family":"Khan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"General Medicine Practice Program, Batterjee Medical College","place":["Jeddah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Waleed Talal","family":"Alotaibi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University","place":["Makkah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ahmed F.","family":"Hegazy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Critical Care 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