Abstract
Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety
and efficacy of zero-fluoroscopy (ZF) catheter ablation (CA) for
supraventricular tachycardias (SVT).
Methods: 584 consecutive patients referred to our institution
for CA of SVT were analysed. Patients were categorised into two groups;
zero-fluoroscopy (ZF) group and conventional fluoroscopy (CF) group. The
ZF group was further divided into two subgroups (adults and paediatric).
Patient characteristics, procedural information, and follow-up data were
compared.
Results: The ZF group had a higher proportion of paediatric
patients (42.2% vs 0.0 %; p < 0.001), resulting in a
younger age (30.9 ± 20.3 years vs 52.7 ± 16.5 years; p< 0.001) and lower BMI (22.8 ± 5.7 kg/m2 vs
27.0 ± 5.4 kg/m2; p < 0.001).
Procedure time was shorter in the ZF group (94.2 ± 50.4 min vs 104.0 ±
54.0 min; p = 0.002). There were no major complications and the
rate of minor complications did not differ between groups (0.0% vs
0.4%; p = 0.304). Acute procedural success as well as the
long-term success rate when only the index procedure was considered did
not differ between groups (92.5% vs 95.4 %; p = 0.155; 87.1%
vs 89.2%; p = 0.422). When repeated procedures were included,
the long-term success rate was higher in the ZF group (98.3% vs 93.5%;p < 0.004). The difference can be partially explained
by the operators’ preferences.
Conclusion: The safety and efficacy of ZF procedures in adult
and paediatric populations are comparable to that of CF procedures.
Keywords: zero-fluoroscopy; fluoroless catheter ablation;
supraventricular tachycardia; cryoablation; three-dimensional
electroanatomic mapping system; paediatric population; intracardiac
echocardiography.