When would you consider proceeding with antiarrhythmic drug load concurrently with DCCV as opposed to DCCV alone in patients with new-onset atrial fibrillation?  

There is no expert consensus. If we are dealing with a first episode of AF, and we know that the arrhythmia has a short duration and the anatomic substrate is not severe, I would proceed with cardioversion alone. After all, we learned from AFFIRM that many patients randomized to "rate control" after...