{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T23:11:32Z","timestamp":1790291492290,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":22,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,23]],"date-time":"2025-09-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1758585600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Patient-reported outcome after treatment is an important factor that positively correlates with the quality of care and can influence the patient\u2019s future health choices. Both radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and cryoballoon ablation (CBA) are effective techniques for pulmonary vein isolation in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and have shown similar results in efficacy and safety, but they have not been thoroughly compared in terms of patient satisfaction. The aim of this study is to assess the satisfaction of paroxysmal AF patients who underwent RFA and CBA after their first procedure. Methods: Consecutive patients who underwent their first procedure of pulmonary vein isolation with RFA or CBA in eight international centres were included. A ten-point Likert scale was used for measuring patient-reported outcomes, evaluating anxiety before procedure, pain during and after ablation, motivation to repeat the procedure in future if necessary, and real and perceived procedural time. Results: A total of 483 patients were enrolled. Median age was 63 [56\u201369] years, and 281 (58.1%) patients were men. In total, 385 (79.7%) patients underwent RFA and 98 (20.3%) underwent CBA. RFA and CBA were equivalent in terms of the satisfaction of the patient, with the only exception being groin pain, which was lower in the CBA group (2 [0\u20133] vs. 3 [1\u20134], p = 0.002). Conscious sedation was used in 414 (86.7%) patients and general anaesthesia in 69 (14.3%) patients. The use of general anaesthesia reduced the perceived pain during and after the procedure in both techniques (p &lt; 0.05), but it resulted in lower pre-procedural anxiety only in RFA patients compared to those under conscious sedation (4 [2\u20136] vs. 5 [3\u20137], p = 0.007). Anaesthetic management alone did not affect the willingness to repeat the procedure in RFA patients, while CBA patients under general anaesthesia were more motivated to repeat the procedure than those under conscious sedation (10 [8\u201310] vs. 7 [6\u20138], p &lt; 0.001). The perceived procedure time was shorter than the actual time in all settings. Conclusions: Anaesthetic management seems to have a greater impact on patient-reported outcome than the technique used during ablation. Despite this, patients most motivated to repeat the procedure were those who underwent CBA under general anaesthesia.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm14196711","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,23]],"date-time":"2025-09-23T13:48:37Z","timestamp":1758635317000},"page":"6711","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Patient-Reported Outcomes After First Pulmonary Vein Isolation for ParoxYsmal Atrial Fibrillation: Cryoballoon vs. Radiofrequency (SPY-AF)"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8995-3884","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Martina","family":"Nesti","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Fondazione Toscana Gabriele Monasterio, 56124 Pisa, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5369-5382","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fabiana","family":"Luc\u00e0","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiology, Grande Ospedale Metropolitano (GOM) of Reggio Calabria, Bianchi Melacrino Morelli Hospital, 89124 Reggio Calabria, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gianluca","family":"Mirizzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fondazione Toscana Gabriele Monasterio, 56124 Pisa, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7816-7327","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Abay","family":"Bakytzhanuly","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Corporate Fund \u201dUniversity Medical Center\u201d, Heart Center, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8843-9370","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Raquel","family":"Adelino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Arrhythmia Department, Clinique Pasteur, 31076 Toulouse, France"},{"name":"Arrhythmia Department, Vall d\u2019Hebron University Hospital, 08035 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2184-3296","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ioannis","family":"Doundoulakis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"First Department of Cardiology, \u201cHippokration\u201d Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University, 11527 Athens, Greece"},{"name":"Athens Heart Center, 15125 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4531-9712","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dimitrios","family":"Tsiachris","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"First Department of Cardiology, \u201cHippokration\u201d Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University, 11527 Athens, Greece"},{"name":"Athens Heart Center, 15125 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fotini","family":"Mitropoulou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"First Department of Cardiology, \u201cHippokration\u201d Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University, 11527 Athens, Greece"},{"name":"Athens Heart Center, 15125 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ana","family":"Jordan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Arrhythmology Department, University Hospital Dubrava, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Philippe","family":"Vanduynhoven","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiology, Arrhythmia Clinic, ASZ Aalst, 9300 Aalst, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Valentina","family":"Faga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cardiology, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, 08907 L\u2019Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4691-7183","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Panteleimon E.","family":"Papakonstantinou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiology Department, Evangelismos Hospital, 10676 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-7555-4577","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sotirios","family":"Xydonas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiology Department, Evangelismos Hospital, 10676 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Iacopo","family":"Gezzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Malattie dell\u2019Apparato Cardiovascolare, University of L\u2019Aquila, 67100 L\u2019Aquila, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4430-6821","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrea","family":"Rossi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fondazione Toscana Gabriele Monasterio, 56124 Pisa, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Silvia","family":"Garibaldi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fondazione Toscana Gabriele Monasterio, 56124 Pisa, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9669-1330","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luigi","family":"Sciarra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Malattie dell\u2019Apparato Cardiovascolare, University of L\u2019Aquila, 67100 L\u2019Aquila, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9227-0360","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vincenzo","family":"Russo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiology Unit, Department of Medical and Translationsl Sciences, University of Campania \u201cLuigi Vanvitelli\u201d, Monaldi Hospital, 80138 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9262-6654","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zefferino","family":"Palam\u00e0","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Electrophysiology Unit, Casa di Cura \u201cVilla Verde\u201d, 74121 Taranto, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0419-196X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gabriele","family":"De Masi De Luca","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Malattie dell\u2019Apparato Cardiovascolare, University of L\u2019Aquila, 67100 L\u2019Aquila, Italy"},{"name":"Cardiology Department, Card. G. Panico Hospital, 73039 Tricase, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2150-3788","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Antonio Gianluca","family":"Robles","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiology Department, Ospedale \u201cL. Bonomo\u201d, 76123 Andria, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2106-0884","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Federico","family":"Landra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Cardiology, Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"851","article-title":"Safety, effectiveness, and quality of life following pulmonary vein isolation with a multi-electrode radiofrequency balloon catheter in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation: 1-year outcomes from SHINE","volume":"23","author":"Schilling","year":"2021","journal-title":"EP Eur."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"58","DOI":"10.15420\/aer.2015.4.1.58","article-title":"Balloon Devices for Atrial Fibrillation Therapy","volume":"4","author":"Metzner","year":"2015","journal-title":"Arrhythm. 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Investig."}],"container-title":["Journal of Clinical Medicine"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2077-0383\/14\/19\/6711\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,9]],"date-time":"2025-10-09T18:47:51Z","timestamp":1760035671000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2077-0383\/14\/19\/6711"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,23]]},"references-count":22,"journal-issue":{"issue":"19","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10]]}},"alternative-id":["jcm14196711"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/jcm14196711","relation":{},"ISSN":["2077-0383"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2077-0383","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,23]]}}}