Romero J, Avendano R, Grushko M, Diaz JC, Du X, Gianni C, Natale A, Biase LD. Oesophageal Injury During AF Ablation: Techniques for Prevention.
Arrhythm Electrophysiol Rev 2018;
7:24-31. [PMID:
29636969 PMCID:
PMC5889811 DOI:
10.15420/aer.2017.46.2]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2017] [Accepted: 01/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Atrial fibrillation remains the most common arrhythmia worldwide, with pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) being an essential component in the treatment of this arrhythmia. In view of the close proximity of the oesophagus with the posterior wall of the left atrium, oesophageal injury prevention has become a major concern during PVI procedures. Oesophageal changes varying from erythema to fistulas have been reported, with atrio-oesophageal fistulas being the most feared as they are associated with major morbidity and mortality. This review article provides a detailed description of the risk factors associated with oesophageal injury during ablation, along with an overview of the currently available techniques to prevent oesophageal injury. We expect that this state of the art review will deliver the tools to help electrophysiologists prevent potential oesophageal injuries, as well as increase the focus on research areas in which evidence is lacking.
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