Comparison of antiarrhythmic medications propafenone and amiodarone injection forms effectiveness in medicamentous cardioversion of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation

Background. According to present 2016–2017 recommendations, propafenone and amiodarone are the main antiarrhythmic medications (AAM) for medicamentous sinus rhythm (SR) restoration. Direct effectiveness and safety comparison of these medications injectable forms for atrial fibrillation (AF) paroxysm treatment on pre-hospital stage is one of the pressing issues. Aim. To compare effectiveness and safety of propafenone and amiodarone use in urgent SR restoration in patients with paroxysmal AF on pre-hospital stage. Materials and methods. An open randomized multicenter prospective study PROMETEI-INSK was conducted. The study included 388 patients with AF paroxysm with mean lasting time of 195 minutes. For the purpose of AF paroxysm treatment amiodarone intravenous bolus was used, in group 2 (268 patients) – propafenone intravenous bolus. The compared groups were matched by sex, age, electrocardiogram (ECG) parameters, and anamnesis of arrhythmic events, comorbid pathology, and therapy. The following investigations were performed: physical examination, medical history taking, ECG before and after rhythm restoration, as well as basic vital factors evaluation (such as heartbeat rate, blood pressure). Study results were processed with the use of statistical data analysis software package Statistica 10 for Windows (StatSoft Inc., USA). Results. AAM effectiveness was evaluated for 24 hours until SR restoration. In the group 1 (amiodarone use) the effectiveness was 61.7% (n=74), in group 2 (propafenone) – 77.6% (n=208); p<0.05. The mean time of rhythm restoration in group 1 was 110 minutes, in group 2 – 22 minutes (p<0.05). Relief of AF paroxysm happened in less than 60 minutes in 25.83% (n=31) of patients in group 1, and in 64.5% (n=173) in group 2; p<0.05. There were no significant differences observed in proarrhythmic and other adverse effects. Conclusion. Propafenone in injectable form is an effective and safe AAM in AF paroxysmal form treatment in comparison with amiodarone on pre-hospital stage. In patients with AF who have no changes in cardiac structure amiodarone is not a first line drug for emergency management of recently emerged AF

Outcomes of Cryoballoon Ablation in High-and Low-Volume Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Centres: A Russian Pilot Survey

properly cited. Purpose. The results of cryoballoon ablation (CBA) procedure have been mainly derived from studies conducted in experienced atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation centres. Here, we report on CBA efficacy and complications resulting from real practice of this procedure at both high-and low-volume centres. Methods. Among 62 Russian centres performing AF ablation, 15 (24%) used CBA technology for pulmonary vein isolation. The centres were asked to provide a detailed description of all CBA procedures performed and complications, if encountered. Results. Thirteen sites completed interviews on all CBAs in their centres (&gt;95% of CBAs in Russia). Six sites were high-volume AF ablation (&gt;100 AF cases/year) centres, and 7 were low-volume AF ablation. There was no statistical difference in arrhythmia-free rates between high-and low-volume centres (64.6 versus 60.8% at 6 months). Major complications developed in 1.5% of patients and were equally distributed between high-and low-volume centres. Minor procedurerelated events were encountered in 8% of patients and were more prevalent in high-volume centres. Total event and vascular access site event rates were higher in women than in men. Conclusions. CBA has an acceptable efficacy profile in real practice. In less experienced AF ablation centres, the major complication rate is equal to that in high-volume centres

Outcomes of Cryoballoon Ablation in High- and Low-Volume Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Centres: A Russian Pilot Survey

Purpose. The results of cryoballoon ablation (CBA) procedure have been mainly derived from studies conducted in experienced atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation centres. Here, we report on CBA efficacy and complications resulting from real practice of this procedure at both high- and low-volume centres. Methods. Among 62 Russian centres performing AF ablation, 15 (24%) used CBA technology for pulmonary vein isolation. The centres were asked to provide a detailed description of all CBA procedures performed and complications, if encountered. Results. Thirteen sites completed interviews on all CBAs in their centres (>95% of CBAs in Russia). Six sites were high-volume AF ablation (>100 AF cases/year) centres, and 7 were low-volume AF ablation. There was no statistical difference in arrhythmia-free rates between high- and low-volume centres (64.6 versus 60.8% at 6 months). Major complications developed in 1.5% of patients and were equally distributed between high- and low-volume centres. Minor procedure-related events were encountered in 8% of patients and were more prevalent in high-volume centres. Total event and vascular access site event rates were higher in women than in men. Conclusions. CBA has an acceptable efficacy profile in real practice. In less experienced AF ablation centres, the major complication rate is equal to that in high-volume centres

The experiences of 33 national COVID-19 dashboard teams during the first year of the pandemic in the World Health Organization European Region: A qualitative study

Background: Governments across the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region have prioritised dashboards for reporting COVID-19 data. The ubiquitous use of dashboards for public reporting is a novel phenomenon. Objective: This study explores the development of COVID-19 dashboards during the first year of the pandemic and identifies common barriers, enablers and lessons from the experiences of teams responsible for their development. Methods: We applied multiple methods to identify and recruit COVID-19 dashboard teams, using a purposive, quota sampling approach. Semi-structured group interviews were conducted from April to June 2021. Using elaborative coding and thematic analysis, we derived descriptive and explanatory themes from the interview data. A validation workshop was held with study participants in June 2021. Results: Eighty informants participated, representing 33 national COVID-19 dashboard teams across the WHO European Region. Most dashboards were launched swiftly during the first months of the pandemic, February to May 2020. The urgency, intense workload, limited human resources, data and privacy constraints and public scrutiny were common challenges in the initial development stage. Themes related to barriers or enablers were identified, pertaining to the pre-pandemic context, pandemic itself, people and processes and software, data and users. Lessons emerged around the themes of simplicity, trust, partnership, software and data and change. Conclusions: COVID-19 dashboards were developed in a learning-by-doing approach. The experiences of teams reveal that initial underpreparedness was offset by high-level political endorsement, the professionalism of teams, accelerated data improvements and immediate support with commercial software solutions. To leverage the full potential of dashboards for health data reporting, investments are needed at the team, national and pan-European levels

Sex-specific efficacy and safety of cryoballoon versus radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation: An individual patient data meta-analysis

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a growing health burden, and pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) using cryoballoon (CB) or radiofrequency (RF) represents an attractive therapeutic option. Sex-specific differences in the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and clinical presentation of AF and PVI are recognized.; We aimed at comparing the efficacy, safety, and procedural characteristics of CB and RF in women and men undergoing a first PVI procedure.; We searched for randomized controlled trials and prospective observational studies comparing CB and RF ablation with at least 1 year of follow-up. After merging individual patient data from 18 data sets, we investigated the sex-specific (procedure failure defined as recurrence of atrial arrhythmia, reablation, and reinitiation of antiarrhythmic medication), safety (periprocedural complications), and procedural characteristics of CB vs RF using Kaplan-Meier and multilevel models.; From the 18 studies, 4840 men and 1979 women were analyzed. An analysis stratified by sex correcting for several covariates showed a better efficacy of CB in men (hazard ratio for recurrence 0.88; 95% confidence interval 0.78-0.98, P = .02) but not in women (hazard ratio 0.98; 95% confidence interval 0.83-1.16; P = .82). For women and men, the energy source had no influence on the occurrence of at least 1 complication. For both sexes, the procedure time was significantly shorter with CB (-22.5 minutes for women and -27.1 minutes for men).; CB is associated with less long-term failures in men. A better understanding of AF-causal sex-specific mechanisms and refinements in CB technologies could lead to higher success rates in women