Abstract
INTRODUCTION
Catheter ablation is the treatment of choice for patients with recurrent paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) in which antiarrhythmic drug therapy has failed to maintain sinus rhythm. Since its first introduction, intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) has proved to increase the efficacy and reduce complications in AF catheter ablation. One of the main advantages of ICE in the electrophysiology laboratory is the reduction of radiation exposure, for both the patient and the physician. Multiple recent studies have shown the feasibility and safety of zero or near-zero fluoroscopy AF ablation, including transseptal puncture, and outlined the importance of using ICE under the support of 3D mapping systems in reducing radiation exposure.
PURPOSE
The aim of this study was to show whether the use of ICE reduced the radiation exposure and total procedure time in recurrent paroxysmal AF patients undergoing radiofrequency catheter ablation.
METHODS
Forty patients that undergone radiofrequency catheter ablation for recurrent paroxysmal AF between January 2018 and May 2019 were included. They were divided in two groups: Group 1 – 20 patients in which ICE was performed and Group 2 – 20 patients in which ablation was performed without ICE guidance. We compared the total ablation time and fluoroscopy dose and time between the two groups. The total ablation time was defined as the time from the groin puncture until the withdrawal of all catheters.
RESULTS
Among the 40 patients included, 28 were men (70%) and the mean age was 57 years old. The mean procedure time was similar between the two groups (175 ± 52.0 for group 1 and 193 ± 49.9 for group 2, p = 0.33). The difference between the two groups was observed in fluoroscopy dose (9914.13 ± 5018.14 vs. 14561.43 ± 7446.1, p = 0.02) and time (26.04 ± 12.5 vs. 40.52 ± 12.6, p = 0.001). We found that in both groups higher fluoroscopy dose was correlated with higher fluoroscopy time (R = 0.74, p = 0.0001 vs. R = 0.57, p = 0.008) and higher total procedure time (R = 0.63, p = 0.002 vs. R = 0.46, p = 0.03). Furthermore, there was also a correlation between higher fluoroscopy dose and time (R = 0.59, p = 0.005 vs. R = 0.58, p = 0.006). No severe procedure-related complications were recorded.
CONCLUSIONS
This study shows that the use of ICE for recurrent paroxysmal AF catheter ablation reduces radiation exposure by lowering the fluoroscopy dose and the time of exposure. As a result, by increasing the training and learning curve in low-experienced centers it may finally get us closer to the ideal zero or near-zero fluoroscopy ablation.
Abstract P338 Figure. ICE-guided transseptal puncture
P338 The road to zero-fluoroscopy catheter ablation in recurrent paroxysmal atrial fibrillation using ICE: training, learning, getting closer
