Anterior-oriented epicardial puncture showed a non-significant reduction in puncture-related major complications compared to the inferior-oriented approach (4.9% vs 10.1%, p=0.16) during VT ablation.
Cohort (n=211)
No
Does anterior-oriented epicardial puncture reduce puncture-related complications compared to inferior-oriented puncture in patients undergoing epicardial ablation for ventricular arrhythmias?
Anterior-oriented epicardial puncture for VT ablation is associated with a lower incidence of collateral abdominal organ damage and overall puncture-related complications compared to the traditional inferior approach.
Absolute Event Rate: 4.9% vs 10.1%
p-value: p=0.16
INTRODUCTION: Pericardial access for ablation of ventricular arrhythmias (VA) can be gained either by an anterior-oriented or inferior-oriented epicardial puncture under fluoroscopical guidance. We retrospectively sought to assess the safety of these two puncture techniques and the incidence of epicardial adhesions and introduce our algorithm for management of pericardial tamponade. METHODS AND RESULTS: In 211 patients (61.4 ± 15.6 years, 179 males; 84.8%) 271 epicardial ablation procedures of VA were performed using either an anterior- or inferior-oriented approach for epicardial access. Puncture-related complications were systematically analyzed. Furthermore, the incidence of adhesions was evaluated during first and repeated procedures. A total of 34/271 (12.5%) major complications occurred and 23/271 (8.5%) were directly related to epicardial puncture. The incidence of puncture-related major complications in the anterior and inferior group was 4/82 (4.9%) and 19/189 (10.1%), respectively. Pericardial tamponade was the most common major complication (15/271; 5.5%). Collateral damages of adjacent structures such as liver, colon, gastric vessels and coronary arteries occurred in 6/189 (3.2%) patients and only within the inferior epicardial access group. Adhesions were documented in 19/211 (9%) patients during the first procedure and in 47.1% if patients had 2 or more procedures involving epicardial access. CONCLUSION: Anterior-oriented epicardial puncture shows an observed association to a reduced incidence of pericardial tamponades and overall puncture-related complications in epicardial ablation of VA. In cases of repeated epicardial access adhesions increase significantly and may lead to ablation failure.
Mathew et al. (Mon,) conducted a cohort in Ventricular arrhythmias (n=211). Anterior-oriented epicardial puncture vs. Inferior-oriented epicardial puncture was evaluated on Puncture-related major complications (p=0.16). Anterior-oriented epicardial puncture showed a non-significant reduction in puncture-related major complications compared to the inferior-oriented approach (4.9% vs 10.1%, p=0.16) during VT ablation.