SAFE‐T 2005.

Methods	RCT Double‐blind Loss to follow‐up reported: yes
Participants	Persistent AF lasting 3 days to 1 year (mean duration: NS). n = 655 Men: 99% Age (mean): 67 (SD 9) years Structural heart disease: 33%. LAD: 48 mm. LVEF: 51% Type of AF: persistent, mean duration: NS
Interventions	Amiodarone 300 mg/day vs sotalol 320 mg/day vs placebo Method of AF cardioversion: pharmacological 20%, electrical 80%
Outcomes	At 12 months: Mortality Stroke Proarrhythmia AF recurrence
Notes
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Low risk	Computer‐generated, permuted‐block randomisation, with stratification.
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Low risk	Both the investigators and participants were unaware of the study‐group assignments.
Blinding (performance bias and detection bias) All outcomes	Low risk	Double‐blind study, matching placebo.
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Low risk	Withdrawals and lost to follow‐up were well balanced and described.
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Low risk	All prespecified and expected outcomes were adequately reported.
Other bias	Low risk	No other bias apparent.