Results From the Loire-Ardèche-Drôme-Isère-Puy-de-Dôme (LADIP) Trial on Atrial Flutter, a Multicentric Prospective Randomized Study Comparing Amiodarone and Radiofrequency Ablation After the First Episode of Symptomatic Atrial Flutter

Background— There is no published randomized study comparing amiodarone therapy and radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFA) after only 1 episode of symptomatic atrial flutter (AFL). The aim of the Loire-Ardeche-Drome-Isere-Puy-de-Dome (LADIP) Trial of Atrial Flutter was 2-fold: (1) to prospectively compare first-line RFA (group I) versus cardioversion and amiodarone therapy (group II) after only 1 AFL episode; and (2) to determine the impact of both treatments on the long-term risk of subsequent atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods and Results— From October 2002 to February 2006, 104 patients (aged 78±5 years; 20 women) with AFL were included, with 52 patients in group I and 52 patients in group II. The cumulative risk of AFL or AF was interpreted with the use of Kaplan-Meier curves and compared by the log-rank test. Clinical presentation, echocardiographic data, and follow-up were as follows: age (78.5±5 versus 78±5 years), history of AF (27% versus 21.6%); structural heart disease (58% versus 65%), left...