The limitations of observational data in assessing surgical left atrial appendage ligation

We read with interest the study by Juo and colleagues, which examined outcomes in a cohort of patients with atrial fibrillation who underwent surgical left atrial appendage (LAA) ligation concomitantly with coronary artery bypass grafting. The authors evaluated the short-term efficacy and safety of LAA ligation in 20,664 patients among a sample of 234,642 patients from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, and reported no significant differences in postoperative stroke, mortality, bleeding, and pericardial complications.
Source: The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery - Category: Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery Authors: Tags: Letter to the editor Source Type: research