Clinical trial NCT01209260: Transseptal Needle Versus Radiofrequency Energy for Left Atrial Access
Official title: Transseptal Needle Versus Radiofrequency Energy for Left Atrial Access (TRAVERSE-LA): A Randomized Controlled Trial
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Heart Diseases
Keywords: Transseptal Puncture
Radiofrequency Energy
Left Atrium Access
Left Atrial Catheterization
Ablation
Transseptal Catheterization
Electrocautery
Catheter Ablation
Atrial Fibrillation
Lead sponsor: University of California, San Francisco
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Baylis Medical Company
First posted: 2010-09-27
Enrollment: 72
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: This is a randomized controlled trial examining whether a mechanical needle versus a needle that uses radiofrequency energy is better at puncturing through a thin wall in the heart (called "transseptal puncture") as measured by procedure time, during an electrical procedure/study of the heart .

Detailed description: Transseptal puncture is a commonly performed procedure allowing access to the left atrium for catheter ablation. Historically, a conventional Brockenbrough needle has been used for this procedure to mechanically puncture the fossa ovalis, which has been well described in the literature.1, 2 Although generally safe, serious complications such as perforation of the atrial wall or aorta can occur.3, 4

Previous studies have evaluated the feasibility and safety of radiofrequency (RF) energy applied to a conventional needle as a technique to access the left atrium, particularly in patients with a repeat procedure, fibrotic septum or aneurysmal septum.5, 6 As a result of this earlier work, a special proprietary device has been designed. The NRG RF needle (Baylis Medical Inc., Montreal, Canada), uses radiofrequency energy emitted from the needle tip to aid in transseptal access. Despite limited literature to support its superiority and safety7-9compared to the conventional approach, the new device has become adopted in some electrophysiology procedures involving a transseptal puncture.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients undergoing radiofrequency ablation within the left atrium through a transseptal approach
* Patients greater than 18 years of age

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients unable to grant informed, written consent

Primary outcomes:
measure: Transseptal Access Procedure Time
timeFrame: Day of procedure
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Number of Participants With Adverse Events as a Measure of Safety
timeFrame: During or immediately after procedure, up to 1 day after procedure. On average, up to 1 day after the procedure.
measure: Performance of the Assigned Needle Type
timeFrame: at time of procedure
measure: Plastic Dilator Shavings
timeFrame: immediately prior to procedure
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: San Francisco
country: United States
facility: University of California, San Francisco
state: California
Study officials:
affiliation: University of California, San Francisco
name: Gregory Marcus, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: University of California, San Francisco
name: Jonathan Hsu, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: ROSS J Jr, BRAUNWALD E, MORROW AG. Transseptal left atrial puncture; new technique for the measurement of left atrial pressure in man. Am J Cardiol. 1959 May;3(5):653-5. doi: 10.1016/0002-9149(59)90347-9. No abstract available.
citation: B-Lundqvist C, Olsson SB, Varnauskas E. Transseptal left heart catheterization: a review of 278 studies. Clin Cardiol. 1986 Jan;9(1):21-6. doi: 10.1002/clc.4960090105.
citation: Roelke M, Smith AJ, Palacios IF. The technique and safety of transseptal left heart catheterization: the Massachusetts General Hospital experience with 1,279 procedures. Cathet Cardiovasc Diagn. 1994 Aug;32(4):332-9. doi: 10.1002/ccd.1810320409.
citation: De Ponti R, Cappato R, Curnis A, Della Bella P, Padeletti L, Raviele A, Santini M, Salerno-Uriarte JA. Trans-septal catheterization in the electrophysiology laboratory: data from a multicenter survey spanning 12 years. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2006 Mar 7;47(5):1037-42. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2005.10.046. Epub 2006 Feb 9.
citation: Bidart C, Vaseghi M, Cesario DA, Mahajan A, Fujimura O, Boyle NG, Shivkumar K. Radiofrequency current delivery via transseptal needle to facilitate septal puncture. Heart Rhythm. 2007 Dec;4(12):1573-6. doi: 10.1016/j.hrthm.2007.07.008. Epub 2007 Jul 14. No abstract available.
citation: Justino H, Benson LN, Nykanen DG. Transcatheter creation of an atrial septal defect using radiofrequency perforation. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2001 Sep;54(1):83-7. doi: 10.1002/ccd.1244.
citation: Smelley MP, Shah DP, Weisberg I, Kim SS, Lin AC, Beshai JF, Burke MC, Knight BP. Initial experience using a radiofrequency powered transseptal needle. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 2010 Apr;21(4):423-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-8167.2009.01656.x. Epub 2009 Nov 17.
citation: Sakata Y, Feldman T. Transcatheter creation of atrial septal perforation using a radiofrequency transseptal system: novel approach as an alternative to transseptal needle puncture. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2005 Mar;64(3):327-32. doi: 10.1002/ccd.20284.
citation: Crystal MA, Mirza MA, Benson LN. A radiofrequency transseptal needle: initial animal studies. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2010 Nov 1;76(5):769-73. doi: 10.1002/ccd.22600.
citation: Hsu JC, Badhwar N, Gerstenfeld EP, Lee RJ, Mandyam MC, Dewland TA, Imburgia KE, Hoffmayer KS, Vedantham V, Lee BK, Tseng ZH, Scheinman MM, Olgin JE, Marcus GM. Randomized trial of conventional transseptal needle versus radiofrequency energy needle puncture for left atrial access (the TRAVERSE-LA study). J Am Heart Assoc. 2013 Sep 17;2(5):e000428. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.113.000428.