A prospective case-control validation of procalcitonin as a biomarker diagnosing pacemaker and implantable cardioverter defibrillator pocket infection

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of device infections, especially pocket infections, is challenging and relies primarily on the clinical presentation. The prospective DIRT (Device associated infections role of new diagnostic tools) study identified procalcitonin (PCT) among 14 biomarkers as the most promising biomarker to aid the diagnosis of pocket infection and identified an optimized cut-off value of 0.05 ng/ml for a localized generator pocket infection. AIMS: The present study aims to validate the proposed PCT cut-off value of 0.05 ng/ml for the diagnosis of pocket infection in an independent cohort. METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 81 patients with pocket infections and 81 age and renal function matched controls presenting for elective device exchange or lead revision. Patients with concomitant infectious or inflammatory diseases, end-stage renal failure, current active malignancy or receiving immunosuppressive therapy were excluded. RESULTS: An elevated PCT over 0.05 ng/ml was found in 68% (n = 55) of pocket infections and 24% (n = 19) of controls, corresponding to a sensitivity of 68% and a specificity of 77% for diagnosing a pocket infection. In ROC analysis, PCT showed an area under the curve of 0.75 (95% confidence interval, 0.68–0.83; P <0.001). Sensitivity remained high with antibiotic pretreatment (65% c.f. 69% without pretreatment) and in cases with minimal inflammatory signs (67% c.f. 70% with extensive inflammation). CONCLUSION: Our study validates the cut-off value of 0.05 ng/ml PCT for diagnosis of a pocket infection, even in patients pre-treated with antibiotics or with minimal clinical signs of inflammation

Ultrasound-Guided Access Reduces Vascular Complications in Patients Undergoing Catheter Ablation for Cardiac Arrhythmias

Background: Femoral vascular access using the standard anatomic landmark-guided method is often limited by peripheral artery disease and obesity. We investigated the effect of ultrasound-guided vascular puncture (UGVP) on the rate of vascular complications in patients undergoing catheter ablation for atrial or ventricular arrhythmias. Methods: The data of 479 patients (59% male, mean age 68 years ± 11 years) undergoing catheter ablation for left atrial (n = 426; 89%), right atrial (n = 28; 6%) or ventricular arrhythmias (n = 28; 6%) were analyzed. All patients were on uninterrupted oral anticoagulants and heparin was administered intravenously during the procedure. Femoral access complications were compared between patients undergoing UGVP (n = 320; 67%) and patients undergoing a conventional approach (n = 159; 33%). Complication rates were also compared between patients with a BMI of >30 kg/m2 (n = 136) and patients with a BMI < 30 kg/m2 (n = 343). Results: Total vascular access complications including mild hematomas were n = 37 (7.7%). In the conventional group n = 17 (10.7%) and in the ultrasound (US) group n = 20 (6.3%) total vascular access complications occurred (OR 0.557, 95% CI 0.283–1.096). UGVP significantly reduced the risk of hematoma > 5 cm (OR 0.382, 95% CI 0.148, 0.988) or pseudoaneurysm (OR 0.160, 95% CI 0.032, 0.804). There was no significant difference between the groups regarding retroperitoneal hematomas or AV fistulas (p > 0.05). In patients with BMI > 30 kg/m2, UGVP led to a highly relevant reduction in the risk of total vascular access complications (OR 0.138, 95% CI 0.027, 0.659), hematomas > 5 cm (OR 0.051, 95% CI 0.000, 0.466) and pseudoaneurysms (OR 0.051, 95% CI 0.000, 0.466). Conclusion: UGVP significantly reduces vascular access complications. Patients with a BMI > 30 kg/m2 seem to particularly profit from a UGVP approach

Early arrhythmia recurrence after catheter ablation for persistent atrial fibrillation: is it predictive for late recurrence?

Background!#!Early recurrence of atrial tachyarrhythmia (ERAT) is common after radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) for atrial fibrillation (AF), but its clinical significance in patients with persistent AF remains unclear. We sought to determine the predictive value of ERAT for rhythm outcome after RFCA for persistent AF.!##!Methods!#!The study included 207 consecutive patients (mean age 66.4 ± 10.7 years, male 66.2%) with persistent and long-standing persistent AF undergoing de novo pulmonary vein isolation (± atrial substrate ablation). All patients remained off antiarrhythmic drugs. ERAT was defined as any atrial arrhythmia ≥ 30 s occurring within the first 30 days. Late recurrence (LR) was determined during follow-up visits scheduled 1, 3, 6 and 12 months post-ablation using 7-day Holter ECGs.!##!Results!#!ERAT occurred in 143/207 (69.1%) patients as AF (60%) or atrial tachycardia (40%) and was persistent in 82% of cases. During a median follow-up of 22.2 months, LR occurred significantly more often in patients with ERAT than in patients without ERAT (92.3 vs. 43.8%, P < 0.001). The only independent predictors for LR were ERAT (OR 16.8, 95% CI 6.184-45.797, P < 0.001) and intraprocedural termination to sinus rhythm (OR 0.052, 95% CI 0.003-0.851, P = 0.038). Extending the blanking period from 30 to 90 days did not impact LR rates.!##!Conclusion!#!ERAT following ablation of persistent AF is strongly associated with late arrhythmia recurrence, which challenges the assumption that ERAT represents merely a transient phenomenon. While limiting the blanking period to 30 days seems justified, the benefit of early re-ablations remains to be addressed in future studies

Atrial fibrillation ablation in adults with congenital heart disease on uninterrupted oral anticoagulation is safe and efficient

Background The prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) is significantly higher in adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD) compared to patients without congenital heart disease (CHD). As AF in ACHD patients might have significant hemodynamic consequences, rhythm control is particularly desirable but rarely achieved by antiarrhythmic drugs. The aim of this study was to investigate safety and long-term outcome of AF ablation in ACHD patients. Methods All ACHD patients (n = 46) that underwent AF ablation at our centre from 2013 to 2017 were included in the study. CHD was classified as simple (46%), moderate (41%) or complex (13%). The majority of patients (61%) suffered from persistent AF (paroxysmal AF 39%). Persistent AF was present in 57% of patients with simple, in 58% of patients with moderate and 83% of patients with complex CHD. All patients underwent radiofrequency (RF) ablation on uninterrupted oral anticoagulation. Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) was performed in patients with paroxysmal AF, whereas patients with persistent AF underwent PVI and ablation of complex fractionated atrial electrograms (CFAE). Results No major complications occurred. Single-procedure success after 18 months off antiarrhythmic drugs was 61% for paroxysmal AF and 29% for persistent AF (p = 0.003). Multiple procedures (mean 2.1 ± 1.4) increased long-term success to 82% for paroxysmal AF and 48% for persistent AF (p = 0.05). Long-term ablation success was 64% for simple, 62% for moderate and 50% for complex CHD patients. Conclusions AF ablation in ACHD patients is feasible and safe regardless of CHD complexity. Success rates in patients with paroxysmal AF are high and comparable to patients without CHD. In ACHD patients with persistent AF, success rates of ablation are markedly reduced which might be due to a different and/or more extensive (bi-)atrial substrate. In the cohort of complex ACHD patients with persistent AF as the dominant AF type, long-term success of AF ablation is limited