The Effect of Posterior Pericardiotomy on the Incidence of Atrial Fibrillation After Cardiac Surgery-Extended Follow-Up (PALACS-EF)

January 28, 2025 updated by: Weill Medical College of Cornell University

The Effect of Posterior Pericardiotomy on the Incidence of Atrial Fibrillation After Cardiac Surgery - Extended Follow-Up (PALACS-EF) Study

The purpose of the Effect of Posterior Pericardiotomy on the Incidence of Atrial Fibrillation After Cardiac Surgery (PALACS, NCT02875405) trial was to determine if performing posterior left pericardiotomy at the time of cardiac surgery prevents atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery. The purpose of the Posterior left pericardiotomy for the prevention of AtriaL fibrillation After Cardiac Surgery-Extended Follow-Up (PALACS-EF) study is to evaluate the effect of posterior left pericardiotomy on 5-year clinical outcomes.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Post-operative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is a common complication of cardiac surgery which is observed in 30-40% of patients. POAF has also been associated with stroke, systemic embolism or cardiac failure during the years after surgery. Several strategies aimed at reducing the incidence of POAF have been investigated, including beta-blockers, amiodarone, and statins, with unsatisfactory results. In the randomized prospective clinical trial, the PALACS trial, 420 patients were randomized either to the intervention group, which received left posterior pericardiotomy at time of cardiac surgery, or to the control group, which did not receive posterior left pericardiotomy at time of cardiac surgery. Posterior left pericardiotomy was associated with a reduction in the incidence of POAF after surgery, but not with improvement in 30-day patient outcomes.

This non-interventional, prospective study is an extension follow-up study (PALACS-EF) of all patients who were enrolled in the original PALACS trial. It is designed to evaluate differences in clinical outcomes between patients who received posterior left pericardiotomy (intervention) versus those who did not (control) at median follow-up of 5 years.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
420

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10065
        • Weill Cornell Medical College Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients enrolled in the PALACS trial

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • This study will include all the subjects enrolled in the PALACS trial

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Not enrolled in the PALACS trial

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Posterior Pericardiotomy
All patients who were randomized to receive posterior pericardiotomy (intervention) in the original PALACS trial.
Other: Non-Interventional
This study is a non-interventional study of all patients previously enrolled in the PALACS trial
No Posterior Pericardiotomy (control)
All patients who were randomized to receive no intervention/no posterior pericardiotomy in the original PALACS trial

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Time to first occurrence of the composite of all-cause mortality and hospital readmission for cardiovascular causes
Time Frame: Median five-year follow-up
Median five-year follow-up

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Time to first occurrence of the composite of all-cause mortality and all-cause hospital readmission
Time Frame: Median five-year follow-up
Median five-year follow-up
Number of Adverse Events
Time Frame: Median five-year follow-up
The following adverse events will be included in the count: Myocardial infarction, stroke, transient ischemic attack, new arrhythmia (atrial fibrillation versus non-atrial fibrillation), heart failure, systemic embolism
Median five-year follow-up

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Leonard N Girardi, MD, Weill Cornell Medical College New York Presbyterian Hospital
  • Study Chair: Mario Gaudino, MD, Weill Cornell Medical College New York Presbyterian Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 1, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
September 26, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
October 13, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
June 5, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 5, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 15, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 25, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 28, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
January 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 1502015867-Extension

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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