Pulmonary vein isolation resulted in structural changes of the mediastinum visible by endosonography in 27% of patients (95% CI 12.73-47.24), though no mucosal changes were found.
Observational (n=29)
Does pulmonary vein isolation cause periesophageal and esophageal injury in patients with atrial fibrillation?
Endosonography reveals that periesophageal structural changes occur in 27% of patients after pulmonary vein isolation, even in the absence of mucosal lesions.
BACKGROUND: Radiofrequency catheter ablation is increasingly used in the treatment of atrial fibrillation. Esophageal wall changes varying from erythema to ulcers have been described by endoscopy in up to 47% of patients following pulmonary vein isolation (PVI). Although esophageal changes are frequently reported, the development of a left atrial (LA)-esophageal fistula is fortunately rare. Nevertheless, mucosal changes may just represent "the tip of the iceberg." The aim of this study was, therefore, to investigate the more subtle changes of and injuries to the posterior wall of the LA, the periesophageal and mediastinal connective tissue, and the whole wall of the esophagus, including mucosal changes by esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) combined with radial endosonography (EUS). METHODS AND RESULTS: Twenty-nine patients (7 females; mean age, 57.7+/-10.5 years range, 23-75 years) underwent EGD and EUS before and after PVI within 48 hours. PVI was performed as a circumferential antral isolation of the septal and lateral pulmonary veins guided by a decapolar circular mapping catheter using a 3-dimensional mapping system with the integration of a preprocedurally acquired computed tomography scan of the left atrium. The maximum power applied was 30 W, with an open-irrigated catheter using a maximum flow rate of 30 mL/min. In all patients, the esophagus was reconstructed using the same computed tomography scan and displayed during the ablation procedure. In case of newly detected periesophageal changes, EGD and EUS were repeated 1 week after the PVI. In all patients, a regular contact area between the LA and the esophagus could be demonstrated before PVI. The mean vertical contact length was 4.4+/-1.5 cm (range, 2-10 cm); and the mean distance between the anterior wall of the esophagus and the endocardium was 2.6+/-0.8 mm (range, 1.4-4.0 mm). After PVI, morphological changes of the periesophageal connective tissue and the posterior wall of the LA were diagnosed by endosonography in 8 patients (27%; 95% confidence interval, 12.73-47.24). No mucosal changes of the esophagus in terms of erythema or ulcers were found. In all but one patient (who refused the control), all periesophageal and atrial changes had resolved within 1 week. No atrioesophageal fistula occurred during follow-up (mean follow-up, 294+/-110 days range, 36-431 days). CONCLUSIONS: Mucosal changes of the esophagus after PVI-like ulcers or erythema could not be demonstrated, yet structural changes of the mediastinum, which were only visible by endosonography, occurred in 27% of patients in the present study. This may indicate a higher than expected periesophageal injury because of PV ablation. Endosonography might prove to be a sensitive and reliable tool in the follow-up after PVI.
Zellerhoff et al. (Tue,) conducted a observational in Atrial fibrillation (n=29). Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) was evaluated on Morphological changes of the periesophageal connective tissue and the posterior wall of the left atrium by endosonography (95% CI 12.73-47.24). Pulmonary vein isolation resulted in structural changes of the mediastinum visible by endosonography in 27% of patients (95% CI 12.73-47.24), though no mucosal changes were found.