A Systematic Review of Ongoing Registered Research Studies on Post-Operative Atrial Fibrillation after Cardiac Surgery.

New-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) after cardiac surgery is associated with patient-important outcomes. Uncertainty persists regarding its prevention, detection, and management. This review seeks to identify, compile, and describe ongoing registered research studies involving patients with or at risk for post-operative AF (POAF) after cardiac surgery. We searched clinical trial registries in January 2023 for studies focusing on POAF prediction, prevention, detection, or management. We extracted data from each record and performed descriptive analyses. In total, 121 studies met the eligibility criteria, including 82 randomized trials. Prevention studies are the most common ( = 77, 63.6%), followed by prediction ( = 21, 17.4%), management ( = 16, 13.2%), and detection studies ( = 7, 5.8%). POAF after cardiac surgery is an area of active research. There are many ongoing randomized prevention studies. However, two major clinical gaps persist; future randomized trials should compare rate and rhythm control in patients who develop POAF, and long-term follow-up studies should investigate strategies to monitor for AF recurrence in patients with POAF.