Statistical Analysis
Continuous variables were expressed as mean±standard deviation (SD) or as a median with interquartile range (IQR), as appropriate. Student’st -test compared means of normally distributed continuous variables, while Mann-Whitney U test was used for skewed distributions. Categorical variables were expressed as frequencies and percentages with outcomes compared using either χ2 or Fisher’s Exact test, as appropriate. A p -value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Freedom from ATAs on/off AADs was calculated at each prospectively defined follow-up timepoint. Composite endpoint survival (freedom from first ATAs recurrence and death) was reported as a Kaplan-Meier estimate and presented alongside the cumulative incidence functions (CIFs) for both ATAs recurrence and death.[26] The probability of being both alive and free from any ATAs recurrence (remaining in sinus rhythm for the study duration) was equivalent to the probability of experiencing neither of the competing risks.[27] Seventeen clinically relevant variables were evaluated using univariable and multivariable Fine-Gray regression to identify factors associated with ATAs recurrence. Data analysis was performed using SAS Studio 3.8 on SAS 9.4 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary NC, USA), SPSS version 25 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA), and R 3.6.3 using the cmprsk package (The R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria).