Conclusion Meta- analysis of r and omized data demonstrated that CF guidance does not improve the safety or efficacy of AF ablation , despite initial observational data showing dramatic improvement .
Aims Despite widespread adoption of contact force ( CF ) sensing technology in atrial fibrillation ( AF ) ablation , r and omized data suggests lack of improvement in clinical outcomes .
We aim ed to assess the safety and efficacy of CF-guided vs. non CF-guided AF ablation .
A prospective study on safety of catheter ablation procedures: contact force guided ablation could reduce the risk of cardiac perforation.
BACKGROUND Contact force ( CF ) sensing catheters provide advantages with regard to safety and efficacy . This study aim ed to evaluate if CF catheters reduce cardiac perforations and other major complications and offer equal safety compared to the magnetic navigation system ( MNS ) . METHODS Data from 1.517 ablation procedures from our prospect i ve registry was analyzed . Ablations were performed using either CF guided catheters ( CF group , n=248 ) , non-CF catheters ( NCF group , n=813 ) , or MNS ( n=456 ) . Four subgroups were analyzed : atrial fibrillation ( AF , n=557 ) , supraventricular tachycardia ( SVT , n=715 ) , ventricular tachycardia ( VT , n=190 ) and patients with congenital heart defects ( CHD , n=55 ) . The primary endpoint of this study was incidence of cardiac perforation . Secondary endpoints were major and minor complications within 30 days of the procedure . RESULTS Complications occurred in 11.3 % ( n=172 ) of the procedures . In 2.8 % ( n=43 ) a major complication occurred , 0.9 % ( n=13 ) had a perforation , 8.5 % ( n=129 ) had a minor complication and 2 patients died ( 0.1 % ) . No cardiac perforation occurred in the CF group , which was significantly different from NCF procedures ( 0.0 % vs. 1.6 % ; relative risk 0.76 , 95 % CI 0.74 - 0.79 , P=0.031 ) and equal to MNS ( 0.0 % ) . This was also observed in the AF subgroup ( 0.0 % vs. 3.3 % ; RR 0.67 , 95 % CI 0.63 - 0.72 , P=0.021 ) , and the occurrence of major complications was lower for CF versus NCF procedures ( 2.1 % vs. 7.8 % , P=0.010 ) . CONCLUSIONS CF-guided catheter ablation is superior to NCF with regard to procedural safety and avoidance of cardiac perforation . This difference is due to a reduction of cardiac perforation and major complications in the AF subgroup
Conclusion Meta- analysis of r and omized data demonstrated that CF guidance does not improve the safety or efficacy of AF ablation , despite initial observational data showing dramatic improvement .
Aims Despite widespread adoption of contact force ( CF ) sensing technology in atrial fibrillation ( AF ) ablation , r and omized data suggests lack of improvement in clinical outcomes .
We aim ed to assess the safety and efficacy of CF-guided vs. non CF-guided AF ablation .