Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation in Patients with Previous Lobectomy or Partial Lung Resection: Long-Term Results of an International Multicenter Study.

INTRODUCTION Data regarding the efficacy of catheter ablation in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and patients' previous history of pulmonary lobectomy/pneumonectomy are scanty. We sought to evaluate the efficacy and long-term follow-up of catheter ablation in this highly selected group of patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS Twenty consecutive patients (8 females, 40%; median age 65.2 years old) with a history of pneumonectomy/lobectomy and paroxysmal or persistent AF, treated by means of pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) at ten participating centers were included. Procedural success, intra-procedural complications, and AF recurrences were considered. RESULTS Fifteen patients had a previous lobectomy and five patients had a complete pneumonectomy. A large proportion (65%) of PV stumps were electrically active and represented a source of firing in 20% of cases. PVI was performed by radiofrequency ablation in 13 patients (65%) and by cryoablation in the remaining 7 cases. Over a median follow up of 29.7 months, a total of 7 (33%) AF recurrences were recorded with neither a difference between patients treated with cryoablation or radiofrequency ablation or between the two genders. CONCLUSIONS Catheter ablation by radiofrequency ablation or cryoablation in patients with pulmonary stumps is feasible and safe. Long-term outcomes are favorable, and a similar efficacy of catheter ablation has been noticed in both males and females

The European TeleCheck-AF project on remote app-based management of atrial fibrillation during the COVID-19 pandemic: Centre and patient experiences

Aims: TeleCheck-AF is a multicentre international project initiated to maintain care delivery for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) during COVID-19 through teleconsultations supported by an on-demand photoplethysmography-based heart rate and rhythm monitoring app (FibriCheck® ). We describe the characteristics, inclusion rates and experiences from participating centres according the TeleCheck-AF infrastructure as well as characteristics and experiences from recruited patients.Methods: Three surveys exploring centre characteristics (n=25), centre experiences (n=23) and patient experiences (n=826) were completed. Self-reported patient characteristics were obtained from the app.Results: Most centres were academic (64%) and specialized public cardiology/district hospitals (36%). Majority of centres had AF outpatient clinics (64%) and only 36% had AF ablation clinics. The time required to start patient inclusion and total number of included patients in the project was comparable for centres experienced (56%) or inexperienced in mHealth use. Within 28 weeks, 1930 AF patients were recruited, mainly for remote AF control (31% of patients) and AF ablation follow-up (42%). Average inclusion rate was highest during the lockdown restrictions and reached a steady state at a lower level after easing the restrictions (188 vs 52 weekly recruited patients). Majority (>80%) of the centres reported no problems during the implementation of the TeleCheck-AF approach. Recruited patients (median age 64 [55-71], 62% male) agreed that the FibriCheck® app was easy to use (94%).Conclusions: Despite different health care settings and mHealth experiences, the TeleCheck-AF approach could be set up within an extremely short time and easily used in different European centres during COVID-19

Jerusalem artichoke powder as a food additive in dairy products and fat replacers

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the Jerusalem artichoke powder produced by a simple drying method is suitable for replacing inulin in dairy products and in fat replacer mixtures. Rheological properties of milk drinks were tested by rotational method measuring the flow curve and fitting the Herschel-Bulkley model. The Jerusalem artichoke powder showed similar rheological behaviour as the commercially available inulin and proved to be a more effective thickener in milk drinks as indicated by the higher consistency values at the same concentration. Panelists found milk drinks prepared with Jerusalem artichoke powder to have similar sensorial quality as prepared with inulin. Fat replacer mixtures were tested by oscillatory tests using amplitude sweep method. The samples containing Jerusalem artichoke powder had lower complex viscosity and initial G’ and G” values indicating weaker gel forming properties compared to inulin. However, lower slope of G’ and G” indicated their better spreadability. The organoleptic texture properties of fat replacer prepared with Jerusalem artichoke powder proved to be slightly better than that of the inulin containing mixture. Based on our results, the Jerusalem artichoke powder seems to be suitable to replace inulin as a natural additive in certain food products

Jerusalem artichoke powder as a food additive in bakery products

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether Jerusalem artichoke powder produced by a simple drying method is suitable for replacing inulin as a dietary fibre in bread. Baking probe was performed using 0, 5, and 10% Jerusalem artichoke (JA) powder and 2.5 and 5% inulin (IN) on wheat flour weight basis. Functional properties of bread loafs were tested by Stable Micro System TA TX2i Texture Analyser (SMS) after 0, 24, 48, and 72 h storage. It was concluded that using inulin as a dietary fibre did not deteriorate the baking quality of bread, however, shelflife slightly decreased. Jerusalem artichoke powder compared to inulin had similar effect on the baking properties of bread. Based on our results, JA powder proved to be a promising alternative for fibre enhancement in bread