Efficacy of multi-electrode duty-cycled radiofrequency ablation for pulmonary vein disconnection in patients with paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation

Aim A novel multi-electrode pulmonary vein ablation catheter (PVAC) combining circular mapping and duty-cycled multi-electrode radiofrequency (RF) energy delivery has been developed to map and isolate the pulmonary veins (PVs). The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of multi-electrode RF ablation using the PVAC device. Methods and results A total of 102 consecutive patients, age 57.9 +/- 9.6 years, with paroxysmal or persistent drug refractory atrial fibrillation (AF) were referred for ablation. All patients had documented AF episodes with an AF duration of 9.3 +/- 7.5 years (range 1.5-25). The mean total procedure time was 139.30 +/- 37.72 (median 135, range 115-172). The mean fluoroscopy time required for PVAC ablation was 17 +/- 12 min (median 16, range 12-33) and the total fluoroscopy time was 32.1 +/- 11.3 min (median 29, range 25-39). The mean multi-electrode RF ablation time required to achieve complete PV isolation was 31 +/- 6.7 min (range 16-51). In eight patients with persistent AF, additional ablations were performed to defragment septal and posterior part of the left atrium. In five patients additional RF ablations using conventional catheters were necessary. After multi-electrode duty-cycled RF ablation, 62 of 102 (60.8%) patients were in sustained sinus rhythm without anti-arrhythmic drugs. The mean follow-up duration was 12.2 +/- 3.9 months (range 6-15). Conclusion This novel multi-electrode ablation technique can be used for PV isolation and left atrium ablation with a relatively low medium-term success rate after the first ablation of similar to 61%. Larger studies with longer follow-up are required to evaluate the efficacy and whether multi-electrode RF ablation is associated with a different complication rate compared with standard PV isolation.