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“Near-zero” fluoroscopic exposure in supraventricular arrhythmia ablation using the EnSite NavX™ mapping system: personal experience and review of the literature

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Abstract

Purpose

Radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) of supraventricular tachyarrhythmias carries a small but non-negligible radiation risk. Studies in children already showed the feasibility of using three-dimensional mapping systems as the primary guide for catheter visualization and positioning in these RFCAs. We aim to demonstrate the feasibility and safety of such an approach in young and middle-aged patients.

Methods

Fifty patients (age 34 ± 12) with supraventricular tachyarrhythmias underwent electrophysiological study; of these, 47 patients proceeded to RFCA guided by the EnSite NavXTM system (23 with atrioventricular nodal reentry tachycardia, 16 with an accessory pathway, six with typical atrial flutter, and two with right atrial tachycardia).

Results

In 38/50 cases (76%), electroanatomical mapping avoided fluoroscopy entirely, including four cases requiring access to the left heart chambers by a retrograde approach. In the remaining 12/50 cases (24%), fluoroscopy use was limited to 122 ± 80 s, with a correspondingly low radiation exposure (dose area product 1.3 ± 1.1 mGy × m2). All procedures were acutely successful, with a procedural time of 113 ± 37 minutes, and without incurring in any major complication. Over a mean follow-up of 12 ± 3 months, we observed one recurrence of pre-excitation and one relapse of atrial flutter.

Conclusions

Our study shows that non-fluoroscopic RFCA of supraventricular tachyarrhythmias using the EnSite NavXTM system is feasible, safe, and effective in a population of relatively young adults. Our experience of a non-fluoroscopic approach in these procedures deserves consideration, particularly in the young or in other patients at higher radiation risk.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cardiac Arrhythmia Research Centre, Centro Cardiologico Monzino, IRCCS, Milan, Italy

    Michela Casella, Antonio Dello Russo, Stefania Riva, Stefano Bartoletti & Claudio Tondo

  2. Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy

    Gemma Pelargonio, Pasquale Santangeli, Antonio Scarà, Tommaso Sanna, Riccardo Proietti, Maria Lucia Narducci & Fulvio Bellocci

  3. Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, St Davis Medical Center, 3000 N. I-35, Suite 720, Austin, TX, 78705, USA

    Luigi Di Biase, G Joseph Gallinghouse & Andrea Natale

  4. St Jude Medical Italy, Milan, Italy

    Luigi Sisto

  5. Department of Cardiology, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy

    Luigi Di Biase

  6. Division of Cardiology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA

    Andrea Natale

  7. Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Andrea Natale

  8. Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA

    Andrea Natale

  9. Interventional Electrophysiology, Scripps Clinic, San Diego, CA, USA

    Andrea Natale

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  1. Michela Casella
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  2. Gemma Pelargonio
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  10. Luigi Di Biase
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  15. Andrea Natale
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  16. Claudio Tondo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrea Natale.

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Casella, M., Pelargonio, G., Dello Russo, A. et al. “Near-zero” fluoroscopic exposure in supraventricular arrhythmia ablation using the EnSite NavX™ mapping system: personal experience and review of the literature. J Interv Card Electrophysiol 31, 109–118 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10840-011-9553-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10840-011-9553-5

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