Response to Letter by Robert M. Hamilton Based on "Prophylactic Radiofrequency Ablation in Asymptomatic Patients With Wolff- Parkinson-White Is Not Yet a Good Strategy: A Decision Analysis" by Chevalier et al

We thank Dr Robert R. Hamilton for his insightful comments and are very pleased that he brings his own experience into the difficult debate on the indication of ablation of the asymptomatic patients with Wolff–Parkinson–White. We feel that some elementary notions about decision analysis have to be restated. There are 2 main arguments for using decision analysis models and to find out how the decision process for a given patient can be improved: a randomized prospective study comparing abstention versus ablation will never be done, and the risk:benefit ratio of both strategies has never been quantified. Interpretation of the results of our study will be facilitated with the …