Introduction
Catheter ablation is a definitive therapy for supraventricular tachycardia that involves an accessory pathway (AP). The acute success rate of catheter ablation is around 90-95% with a recurrence rate of 5-10%.1-3 The resumption of accessory pathway conduction within 24 hours is defined as early recurrence.4-6 After ablation of the AP, the patient is observed for resumption of pathway conduction in the catheterization laboratory. This observation period is variable, and most centers have done so for a minimum of 30 minutes after successful radiofrequency application.7
Adenosine is a natural nucleoside with a short half-life, used for unmasking latent preexcitation.8,9 It is given after catheter ablation to unmask dormant AP conduction by slowing atrioventricular conduction and causing membrane hyperpolarization.10,11 Timing of adenosine administration post-ablation varies in different studies from 15 to 30 minutes.10,12 We hypothesized that administration of intravenous adenosine at 10 minutes after ablation would have the same diagnostic accuracy as waiting for 30 minutes in predicting a resumption of AP conduction. The waiting period and the total procedure time could be abbreviated if this was true.