No clear benefit was observed for AF recurrence at 2 - 3 days , 1 or 24 months of follow-up .
Steroid use was associated with decreased risk of early AF recurrence 3 and 12 - 14 months after ablation .
Previous studies have reported that steroids may reduce the risk of  atrial fibrillation ( AF ) recurrence after catheter ablation , but data regarding this issue have been controversial .
Therefore , we conducted a meta- analysis of r and omized clinical trials ( RCTs ) and observational studies to ascertain the association of steroids and  AF recurrence  after ablation .
Effect of Short-Term Steroid Therapy on Early Recurrence During the Blanking Period After Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation
Background —Early recurrence ( ER ) of atrial tachyarrhythmias during the first 3 months ( blanking period ) after atrial fibrillation ablation can be highly symptomatic , often requiring emergency treatment . Short-term steroid therapy may suppress ER during the blanking period . Methods and Results —We prospect ively enrolled 138 patients who were r and omly assigned to 2 groups ( steroid  group and control group ) . An intravenous bolus of 0.5 mg/kg of methylprednisolone for 2 days followed by 12 mg daily of oral methylprednisolone for 4 days was given to the steroid group patients . The primary end point was ER during the blanking period ( 3 months post ablation ) . During the blanking period , 51 of the 138 ( 37.0 % ) patients experienced ER after atrial fibrillation ablation . The steroid group had a lower rate of ER than the control group ( 15/64 [ 23.4 % ] versus 36/74 [ 48.6 % ] , P=0.003 ) . There was no difference between the 2 groups about late recurrence during a 24-month follow-up ( log-rank test , P=0.918 ) . In a multivariate analysis , short-term steroid therapy was independently associated with a lower rate of ER during the blanking period ( adjusted OR , 0.45 ; 95 % confidence interval , 0.25–0.83 ; P=0.01 ) . Conclusions —Periprocedural short-term moderate intensity steroid therapy reduces ER ( ≈3 months ) after catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation . It is not effective in preventing late ( 3≈24 m ) atrial fibrillation recurrence . Clinical Trial Registration —URL : www.who.int/ictrp ; Unique identifier : KCT0000107
No clear benefit was observed for AF recurrence at 2 - 3 days , 1 or 24 months of follow-up .
Steroid use was associated with decreased risk of early AF recurrence 3 and 12 - 14 months after ablation .
Previous studies have reported that steroids may reduce the risk of  atrial fibrillation ( AF ) recurrence after catheter ablation , but data regarding this issue have been controversial .
Therefore , we conducted a meta- analysis of r and omized clinical trials ( RCTs ) and observational studies to ascertain the association of steroids and  AF recurrence  after ablation .