Study design
The AF-TRACER study is a single-centre, retrospective observational
study conducted at the Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, UK. The study
was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and Good
Clinical Practice guidelines. Anonymised data were obtained from the
institutional electronic database normally utilized for patient care and
therefore the need for informed consent was waived by the institutional
Medical Ethical Committee. Baseline, rhythm analysis, operative, and
outcome data were prospectively collected, validated and entered into
the administrative database, which was analysed retrospectively.