Pulsed-field ablation of atrial fibrillation with a pentaspline catheter across National Health Service England centres

Introduction Pulsed-field ablation (PFA) is a novel modality for pulmonary vein isolation in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). We describe the initial uptake and experience of PFA using a pentaspline catheter across selected National Health Service England (NHSE) centres.Methods Data collected...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tom Wong, Mark T Mills, Shajil Chalil, Francis Murgatroyd, Scott Gall, Aruna Arujuna, David Jones, Mark O'Neill, Claire Martin, Zhong Chen, Shui Hao Chin, Dhiraj Gupta, Derick M Todd, Sarah Zeriouh, Greg Mellor, Vishal Luther, Richard Balasubramaniam, Mark Sopher, Matthew J Lovell, Riyaz Somani, Peter Calvert, Riyaz A Kaba, Saket Trivedi, Julian Boullin, Magdi Saba, Una Buckley
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2024-12-01
Series:Open Heart
Online Access:https://openheart.bmj.com/content/11/2/e003094.full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Introduction Pulsed-field ablation (PFA) is a novel modality for pulmonary vein isolation in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). We describe the initial uptake and experience of PFA using a pentaspline catheter across selected National Health Service England (NHSE) centres.Methods Data collected by NHSE Specialised Services Development Programme regarding AF ablation procedures using a single-shot, pentaspline, multielectrode PFA catheter (FARAWAVE, Boston Scientific) between June 2022 and August 2024 were aggregated and analysed to examine procedural metrics, acute efficacy and safety outcomes over 3-month follow-up.Results 1034 procedures were submitted. The patients were 32.1% female, mean age 63.8±10.7 years, 53.1% paroxysmal AF and 89.7% first-time AF ablation. Procedures were performed by 48 consultant operators at nine NHSE centres, with a mean of 115 procedures per centre (range 25–264). 93.7% of procedures were performed under general anaesthesia. Median skin-to-skin procedure time was 74 min (IQR 55–96 min) and fluoroscopy time 20 min (IQR 15–27 min). Electroanatomical mapping was used in 15.3%. In first-time ablation cases, acute isolation of all pulmonary veins was achieved in 99.5% of patients. Left atrial (LA) posterior wall ablation using the PFA catheter was performed in 11.0% of cases; additional LA radiofrequency ablation was performed in 0.6%. The major and minor acute procedural complication rates were, respectively, 1.3% and 3.1%, with no reports of periprocedural death or atrio-oesophageal fistula. 63.8% of patients were discharged on the day of procedure. Follow-up data were available for 870 procedures (84.1%). In the 3 months following ablation, hospitalisation for arrhythmia occurred in 3.2%, with 0.9% rehospitalised for procedural-related complications.Conclusion In this real-world, nationwide registry of a pentaspline PFA catheter, efficacy, safety and efficiency outcomes were comparable to those from previous PFA studies in patients with AF.
ISSN:2053-3624