Comparisons of procedural characteristics and clinical outcomes between SMARTTOUCH SURROUNDFLOW catheter and other catheters for atrial fibrillation radiofrequency catheter ablation: a systematic literature review

BackgroundSMARTTOUCH SURROUNDFLOW (STSF) catheter is the new generation of SMARTTOUCH (ST) catheter with an upgraded irrigation system for radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).MethodsThis systematic literature review searched the major English and Chinese bibliographic databases from 2016 to 2022 for any original clinical studies assessing the STSF catheter for RFCA in AF patients. Meta-analysis with a random effects model was used for evidence synthesis.ResultsPooled outcomes from 19 included studies indicated that STSF catheter was associated with a significantly shorter procedure time (weighted mean difference (WMD): −17.4 min, p