Patients
Written informed consent was obtained from all patients prior to the
ablation procedure, and this study was approved by the local ethics
committee (Japan Red Cross Yokohama City Bay Hospital 2019-8). A total
of 54 consecutive patients with non-paroxysmal AF who were advised to
undergo CBA for PVI and LA roof lines were prospectively enrolled
between March and December 2019. Patients who underwent additional
ablation aiming at the LA posterior wall (LAPW), besides PVI including
touch-up ablation with a radiofrequency (RF) catheter or LA roof line
ablation, were excluded. All patients underwent three-dimensional
computed tomography (3DCT) and transthoracic echocardiography (TTE)
before ablation. Anatomical factors including pulmonary vein (PV)
diameter and those related to the esophagus were analyzed via 3DCT using
a computer workstation (Ziostation, Ziosoft Inc., Tokyo, Japan). The
relationship between the LA roof and esophagus is depicted inFigure 1 . Paroxysmal AF was defined as AF terminating within 7
days, based on a prior definition.9 Baseline
demographic characteristics, comorbidities, and medications were
recorded.