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Additional data on protection of the esophagus during catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation
  • Brad Clark,
  • Erik Kulstad
Brad Clark
St. Vincent Medical Group

Corresponding Author:b55clark@gmail.com

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Erik Kulstad
University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center
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Abstract

The excellent review by Houmsse and Daoud of techniques and methods utilized to protect the esophagus from injury during atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation appropriately concludes that considering the ease of use, minimal side effects, and low costs associated with esophageal protection devices, compelling evidence exists for use of esophageal protection as routine care for AF ablation. Some additional data are available which would warrant inclusion in further consideration of this topic. Three recent studies have demonstrated the inability of LET monitoring to protect the esophagus, whereas meta-analysis of three studies of manual cooling using direct liquid instillation suggests that this approach significantly reduced high-grade lesion formation (OR of 0.39, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.89). Moreover, three studies using a commercially available cooling device FDA cleared for thermal regulation have shown reductions in esophageal lesion severity without degradation in ablation efficacy.
17 Mar 2021Submitted to Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology
18 Mar 2021Submission Checks Completed
18 Mar 2021Assigned to Editor
18 Mar 2021Editorial Decision: Accept
Jun 2021Published in Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology volume 32 issue 6 on pages 1791-1792. 10.1111/jce.15048