Vein of Marshall ethanol infusion for recurrent atrial fibrillation in patients with durably isolated pulmonary veins.

BACKGROUND: Vein of Marshall (VoM) ethanol ablation has a proven benefit in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) undergoing index procedure; however, its role in repeat ablation is unknown. We sought to evaluate the benefit of empiric VoM ethanol ablation in addition to posterior wall isolation (PWI) during the repeat procedure in patients with durable pulmonary vein (PV) isolation from prior ablation. METHODS: Twenty-three patients (age 67.1 + / - 7.4, 74% males) who received empiric VoM ethanol infusion in addition to PWI were matched for age, gender, ejection fraction, and left atrial size with forty-six patients receiving empiric PWI alone. All patients in the study group underwent additional ablation on mitral isthmus to complete the lateral mitral isthmus line. Additional ablation was based on program and trigger stimulation. Primary outcome was freedom from AF after a blanking period of 3 months by qualification of symptoms, EKG, wearable, or implantable monitor or device. RESULTS: The study group had a higher average BMI (35.07 + / - 8.98 vs. 30.85 + / - 5.65, p = 0.033) and rate of persistent AF (83.0% vs. 54.3%, p = 0.029) versus the control. The 1-year AF-free survival for the study and control groups was 20 (86.96%) and 28 (60.1%) patients (p = 0.027). Cox proportional hazard regression analysis showed a significant reduction in AF recurrence in the study group (HR 0.25, 95% CI 0.073-0.843, p = 0.026). CONCLUSION: Among patients undergoing repeat catheter ablation for recurrent AF with durably isolated PVs, the addition of VoM ethanol infusion increased the likelihood of remaining free from AF at 12 months.

Anatomically Based Ablation of Left Ventricular Summit Premature Ventricular Complexes Guided by Intracardiac Echocardiography.

Catheter ablation of premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) arising from the left ventricular summit (LVS) presents technical challenges due to the regional anatomy and frequent intramural site of origin (SOO). Intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) and the CARTOSOUND® (Biosense Webster, Diamond Bar, CA, USA) module allow the operator to directly reconstruct and visualize the dimensions and orientation of the LVS live and present it in relation to neighboring structures. We retrospectively reviewed consecutive cases between January 2021 and December 2022 of patients undergoing PVC ablation for a presumed LVS origin. The LVS was reconstructed by creating a three-dimensional representation of the left ventricular septum, using two-dimensional ICE sections. The earliest site in each chamber was tagged on the reconstructed LVS, and the presumed SOO was localized using a geometrical center point from all sites. Ablation was first delivered to the earliest site, except when the presence of coronary branches precluded radiofrequency delivery within the great cardiac vein. Of 20 patients (8 women, 62.4 ± 7.1 years old) with a presumed LVS origin, 12 had PVC recurrence within the monitoring period after the initial ablation for 192.5 ± 37.2 s at the earliest site. Among them, earliest activation was seen at the sinus of Valsalva (SoV), coronary venous system (CVS), and left ventricular endocardium (LVE) in four, six, and two patients, respectively. Using the reconstructed LVS, the anatomically closest site to the SOO was identified in the SoV, CVS, and LVE in four, two, and six cases, respectively. Throughout the study period (14.5 months; range, 9.3-19.7 months), 17 patients (85%) had complete elimination of PVCs as evaluated by 24-h event monitors at the 12-month visit. In 50% of cases, among patients in whom ablation at the earliest signal was unsuccessful, the site of successful ablation did not correlate with the second earliest signal or had no identifiable signal during initial activation mapping. The reconstructed LVS not only guided activation mapping but also identified sites proximal to the center point that had either a late activation signal, a low-amplitude signal, or no signal at all.

Ablation of ectopic atrial foci for successful management of symptomatic bradycardia: A case series (bradycardia and ectopic atrial beats).

Atrial premature contractions (PACs) that block at the atrio-ventricular (AV) nodal level and occurring in a bigeminal frequency are recognized as a cause of symptomatic bradycardia. Appropriate suppression of the PACs often results in restoration of a regular rhythm with resolution of bradycardia-related symptoms. We report a series of three patients with non-conducted bigeminal PACs arising from the mitral annulus that resulted in symptomatic bradycardia and who were referred for consideration of cardiac pacing. Focal ablation suppressed PACs restoring a normal heart rate and resolution of symptoms without resorting to cardiac pacing.

A Novel Risk Score to Predict One-Year Mortality in Patients Undergoing Complex High-Risk Indicated Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (CHIP-PCI).

OBJECTIVE: To identify patients undergoing complex, high-risk indicated percutaneous coronary intervention (CHIP-PCI) and compare their outcomes with non-CHIP patients. We created a CHIP score to risk stratify these patients. BACKGROUND: Risk stratification of PCI patients remains difficult because most scoring systems reflect hemodynamic instability and predict early mortality. METHODS: CHIP-PCI was defined as any of the following: age >80 years; ejection fraction <30%; dialysis; prior bypass surgery; treatment of left main trunk; chronic total occlusion; or >2 lesions in >1 coronary artery. The primary endpoint was 1-year all-cause mortality. Logistic regression identified independent predictors of 1-year mortality and the odds ratios (ORs) for those predictors were used to create a CHIP score. Patients were then classified as low, intermediate, and high risk. RESULTS: Among 4478 patients, a total of 1730 (38.6%) were CHIP. There were 85 deaths (2.2%) at 1 year (4.1% in CHIP patients and 1.0% in non-CHIP patients; P<.001). CHIP-PCI was an independent predictor of mortality (OR, 2.57; 955 confidence interval, 1.52-4.32; P<.001). Four CHIP criteria were independent predictors of mortality: age >80 years (3 points); dialysis (6 points); ejection fraction <30% (2 points); and number of lesions treated >2 (2 points). Accordingly, there were 2752 low-risk (score of 0), 889 intermediate-risk (score of 2-3), and 267 high-risk patients (score of 4-13). The 1-year mortality rates among these 3 groups were 1.24%, 2.47%, and 10.86%, respectively (P<.001). CONCLUSION: Compared with non-CHIP, CHIP-PCI is associated with increased risk of 1-year mortality, which is particularly evident among those fulfilling >1 CHIP criterion.

Ticagrelor vs Clopidogrel in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Insights From a Single Institution Registry.

Dual-antiplatelet therapy is recommended for all patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), regardless of performance of revascularization. Ticagrelor (T) was shown to be superior to clopidogrel (C) in a large, randomized clinical trial, but data from real-world practice are lacking. We identified ACS patients from our institutional registry who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention and received one of the two drugs at hospital discharge based on physician preference. Among 1439 patients, there were 774 patients (53.8%) in the C group and 665 patients (46.2%) in the T group. T and C patients were similar except for a higher incidence of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (MI) and lower frequency of prior MI in the T group (P<.05 for both). The primary endpoint - 1-year all-cause death - occurred in 58 C patients and 48 T patients (6.9% vs 7.9%, respectively; P=.42). Sixty percent of these deaths (n = 62; 31 C and 31 T) were considered cardiovascular in nature based on chart review. By multivariable logistic regression model, only dialysis (hazard ratio [HR], 2.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.50-4.64; P=.01), age (HR, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.49-2.24 per 10 years; P<.001), and prior heart failure (HR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.12-2.82; P=.02) were independent predictors of 1-year death. Treatment with T was not a predictor of death (HR, 1.21; 95% CI, 0.81-1.82; P=.35) or cardiovascular death (HR, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.72-1.94; P=.52). Landmark analysis from day 10 showed similar results (HR, 1.13; 95% CI, 0.71-1.84; P=.59). Thus, we conclude that C and T have similar rates of 1-year all-cause mortality, which is predominantly affected by age, end-stage renal disease, and pre-existing heart failure.

Has the risk of dislocation after total hip arthroplasty performed for displaced femoral neck fracture improved with modern implants?

BACKGROUND: Displaced femoral neck fractures (DFNF) in the elderly can be treated with hemiarthroplasty or total hip arthroplasty (THA). One concern with utilizing THA in this setting is post-operative dislocation. The purposes of this study were to determine the incidence of hip dislocation following THA for DFNF and to identify risk factors for dislocation. METHODS: The charts of 66 posterior-approach THA cases performed for DFNF with mean post-operative follow-up of 4.4 years were retrospectively reviewed. Pre-operative patient demographic data and intra-operative clinical data were recorded including age, race, gender, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), femoral head diameter, acetabular cup diameter, use of an elevated liner, and cementing of femoral component. For patients with available post-operative pelvis radiographs, acetabular cup inclination and version angles were also calculated. RESULTS: Four dislocation (4/66, 6%) events occurred at an average of 51 days after surgery. No specific risk factors for dislocation were identified but the use of a cemented femoral stem did approach significance (p = 0.06). 47% of the acetabular cups were located outside of the Lewinnek safe zone. Although the dislocation rate of THAs with acetabular cups outside of the safe zone was higher than the dislocation rate for THAs with cups in the safe zone (12.5% vs 0%), placement of acetabular cups outside of the safe zone was not a risk factor for dislocation. CONCLUSIONS: Posterior THA with proper cup positioning and meticulous soft tissue repair is an effective treatment option for DFNF with low dislocation risk.