Statistical analysis
Continuous data were presented as the mean± standard deviation.
Continuous variables were compared by means of 1-way ANOVA and post hoc
analysis with Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons of data if
normally distributed, or the Kruskal-Wallis test, if skewed. Categorical
variables were analyzed with the Fisher’s exact test. To compare the
rhythm outcome between the PLS ablation and conventional ablation, age,
gender, left atrial diameter (LAD), left ventricular ejection fraction
(LVEF) and creatinine level matched conventional ablation group were
selected as a conventional ablation group. The cumulative incidence of
AF recurrence was determined by the Kaplan-Meier method. The survival
analysis between PLS ablation group and conventional ablation group was
performed using a log-rank test. Cox proportional hazards regression
models were used to estimate hazard ratios and 95% CIs for AF
recurrence. Variables in the multivariable Cox proportional hazards
regression model included each ablation strategy, age, gender, LAD and
LVEF with P<0.05 using unadjusted Cox proportional hazard
regression analysis. Multivariate logistic regression models were used
to estimate hazard ratios and 95% CIs for AF termination. A value of
p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. All
statistical analyses were performed using EZR on R commander, version
1.36 or SPSS, Release 24 software (SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA).