A randomized prospective comparison of CartoMerge and CartoXP to guide circumferential pulmonary vein isolation for the treatment of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>CartoXP and CartoMerge have been used to treat atrial fibrillation (AF) for several years. Our randomized prospective study compared clinical outcomes of these two versions of three dimensional electroanatomic mapping system in guiding catheter ablation for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Eighty-one patients with symptomatic, drug refractory PAF were randomly assigned to CartoMerge group (n=42, mean age (54.5+/-13.1) years, history of AF=3.2 years) or CartoXP group (n=39, mean age (59.8+/-15.6) years, history of AF = 2.9 years). All patients underwent 64-slice computed tomography (MSCT) 1 to 3 days prior to ablation procedure. Using CartoMerge(TM) Image Integration Module, 3D anatomical images of the left atrium (LA) and pulmonary veins (PVs) derived from MSCT of CartoMerge group were established and merged with the electroanatomical map. The integrated images were used to guide the procedure of circumferential pulmonary vein isolation (CPVI). In the other group, CPVI was guided just by CartoXP. The endpoint of CPVI in both groups was abolition or dissociation of pulmonary vein potentials (PVPs).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Mapping points to establish the electroanatomical model of the LA/PVs were 48.7+/-13.4 in CartoMerge group and 62.5+/-15.7 in CartoXP group (P<0.001). Mean distance between mapping points and the MSCT surfaces in CartoMerge group was (1.59+/-0.33) mm. Accomplishment of abolition or dissociation of PVPs was achieved 95.2% in CartoMerge group and 92.3% in CartoXP group. Durations of procedure and exposure to X-ray were (156+/-25) minutes, (179+/-21) minutes (P<0.001) and (19.6+/-7.5) minutes, (28.5+/-12.8) minutes (P<0.001), respectively. After a follow-up with duration of (11.9+/-3.1) months vs (12.4+/-3.6) months post the first ablation procedure, patients free of AF were 33 (78.6%) in CartoMerge group and 29 (74.4%) in CartoXP group (P>0.50). No patient suffered pulmonary vein stenosis, atrioesophageal fistula, stroke or death.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Compared to CartoXP, CartoMerge shortened the catheter ablation procedure and exposure to X-ray, without affecting the clinical outcomes of circumferential pulmonary vein isolation for the treatment of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in experienced centres.</p>

Multi-link Vision and MiniVision stent registry in Asian patients with coronary artery disease: a prospective, multi-center study / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Recent studies have showed that the fine mesh stents are associated with a significant reduction in both clinical and angiographic re-stenosis of the coronary arteries. To maintain a very satisfactory radio-opacity using the stents, Guidant of the USA has designed a new type of bare metal stents (BMS)-Multi-link (ML) Vision/ML MiniVision stents. The clinical outcomes of Asian patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) after implanting the Multi-link Vision or MiniVision stent were investigated in this study.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>An observational, prospective, multi-center, non-randomized post marketing registry was conducted to demonstrate the efficacy of the BMS-ML Vision/ML MiniVision stents. The primary end point of the registry was clinical target lesion revascularization (TLR) at a 6-month follow-up. The major secondary end points included the rate of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) and serious adverse events (SAE) in hospital and at 6 months; and the rate of clinical TLR as a function of the type of angina. A total of 429 Asian people with 449 lesions from 14 centers were selected for this study. The average reference diameter of the lesions was (3.0 +/- 0.5) mm, and the mean length was (15.7 +/- 5.0) mm.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The successful rate of the procedure was 99.3%. Twenty-five percent of the lesions were treated by direct stenting without pre-dilation. Eighty-six percent of the lesions were implanted with ML Vision stent. After the 6-month follow-up, the rate of clinical TLR was 1.4%. The MACE, SAE and target vessel revascularization (TVR) were 6.8%, 3.5% and 1.4% respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The current registry showed the excellent 6-month clinical outcomes of ML Vision/ML MiniVision stents in Asian patients with CAD.</p>