Increasing the Single-Procedure Success Rate of Pulmonary Vein Isolation

Abstract

To improve the single-procedural success and long-term outcomes of catheter ablation techniques for AF, there is a need for durable, contiguous and transmural lesions encircling the pulmonary veins (PV). Measurement of contact force (CF) between the catheter tip and the target tissue can optimise ablation procedures. A new approach to obtain single-procedure durable PV isolation (PVI) using the latest CF technology combined with the CARTO VISITAG ™ Module with Ablation Index (Biosense Webster) has been shown in small studies to almost eliminate recurrence of paroxysmal AF at 1-year follow up and to make PVI procedures more reproducible. The use of a standardised workflow is expected to increase the reproducibility of results and to increase the efficiency of PVI procedures. KeywordsCatheter ablation, contact force, pulmonary vein isolation, CARTO VISITAG™ Module, ablation index Disclosure: Mark O'Neill has received research support, honoraria and consulting fees from Biosense Webster; and research support, honoraria and consulting fees from Abbott/St Jude. Mattias Duytschaever has received honoraria for presentation and consulting from Biosense Webster. Acknowledgement:The authors are grateful to the technical editing support provided by Katrina Mountfort of Medical Media Communications (Scientific) Ltd, which was funded by Biosense Webster. Received A R R H Y T H M I A & E L E C T R O P H Y S I O L O G Y R E V I E W 218 Diagnostic Electrophysiology and Ablation Clinical Impact of Contact Force TechnologiesOptimising Outcomes in Pulmonary Vein Isolation What About Randomised Trials?The importance of optimal contact has been demonstrated in the prospective randomised non-inferiority Ablation Catheter Study for Atrial Fibrillation (TOCCASTAR) study, which compared the TactiCath catheter with a non-CF-sensing catheter (NAVISTAR ® ThermoCool ® ;Biosense Webster) in 300 patients undergoing catheter ablation of PAF. 14 When the CF arm was stratified into optimal CF (≥90 % ablations with ≥10 g) and non-optimal CF groups, effectiveness was achieved in 75.9 % versus 58.1 %, respectively (p=0.018).In a recent randomised trial performed at seven UK centres, 117 patients undergoing first-time PAF ablation were randomised to ablation with (CF-on) or without (CF-off) CF data available to the operator. A reduction in acute PV reconnection rates was seen in the CF-on group (22 % versus 32 %, p=0.03) but there was no significant difference in 1-year success rates (49 % versus 52 %, p=0.9). Furthermore, there was no difference in major complication rates, procedural times and fluoroscopy times. The investigators concluded that CF data availability as used in this study was associated with improved catheter control but did not impact on the clinical outcome. This confirms that CF is only one of multiple factors that determine lesion efficacy and safety. 15Three other small prospective randomised studies have compared CF versus non-CF-sensing catheter ablation. These studies have shown that some operators are able to est...

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Pulmonary vein isolation guided by moderate ablation index targets combined with strict procedural endpoints for patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation

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Factors associated with the efficacy of atrial fibrillation radiofrequency catheter ablation: opinion of the specialists who use the “ablation index” module

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