The FIRE AND ICE Trial: What We Know, What We Can Still Learn, and What We Need to Address in the Future

The FIRE AND ICE Trial was initiated in 2012 as a multicenter, randomized, head‐to‐head comparison of radiofrequency current (RFC) and cryoballoon catheter ablation for the treatment of patients with drug‐refractory symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF).

Six years on, it remains the largest, randomized comparison of safety and efficacy between 2 catheter ablation modalities used in the treatment of patients with AF. This landmark trial not only established noninferiority between cryoballoon and RFC ablation for pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) with regard to the study's efficacy and safety primary end points, but also, it evaluated secondary end points that were critical for a representative study interpretation.

Reference

1. Kuck KH, Brugada J, Schlüter M, Braegelmann KM, Kueffer FJ, Chun KRJ, Albenque JP, Tondo C, Calkins H; FIRE AND ICE Trial Investigators. The FIRE AND ICE Trial: What We Know, What We Can Still Learn, and What We Need to Address in the Future. J Am Heart Assoc 2018 Dec 18;7(24):e010777 Go to PubMed