Additional data on protection of the esophagus during catheter
ablation of atrial fibrillation
Brad Clark, DO, St. Vincent Medical Group, 10590 N. Meridian St, Suite
200, Indianapolis, IN, 46290
Erik Kulstad, MD, MS, Dept. of Emergency Medicine, UT Southwestern
Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX 75390,
Erik.Kulstad@UTSouthwestern.edu
Corresponding author: Erik Kulstad, MD, MS, Dept. of Emergency Medicine,
UT Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX
75390, Erik.Kulstad@UTSouthwestern.edu
Funding: None
Conflict of interest: EK declares equity interest in Attune Medical.
We enjoyed the review by Houmsse and Daoud of techniques and methods
utilized to protect the esophagus from injury during atrial fibrillation
(AF) ablation.1 Their manuscript provides a valuable
overview of an important topic, and appropriately concludes that
considering the ease of use, minimal side effects, and low costs
associated with esophageal protection devices, compelling evidence
exists for use of esophageal protection as routine care for AF ablation.
Some additional data are available which would warrant inclusion in
further consideration of this topic.
Regarding the current standard of luminal esophageal temperature (LET)
monitoring, in addition to the concerns over this approach raised by
Houmsse and Daoud, abundant clinical data now exist and demonstrate the
inability of LET monitoring to protect the esophagus. The OPERA study
was a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of patients comparing
single-sensor LET monitoring to controls (using no
monitoring).2 On endoscopy after ablation using
standard parameters the authors found an 11% lesion rate with LET
monitoring versus 9% without monitoring. The AI-HP ESO II study
utilized ablation-index guided high-power and found two lesions in the
single-sensor LET monitored group versus one in the unmonitored
controls.3 Grosse Meininghaus et al. utilized
multi-sensor LET monitoring in an RCT and found a 14% injury rate with
multi-sensor LET monitoring versus a 5% rate with no LET monitoring,
with the most severe lesion found in the unmonitored
group.4
Regarding active cooling using manual cold liquid instillation, in
addition to the study cited by Houmsse and Daoud, two other studies have
been published comparing this method to standard LET
monitoring.5,6 A meta-analysis of all three of these
studies found that this approach significantly reduced high-grade lesion
formation (OR of 0.39, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.89), suggesting that even with
a low-capacity thermal extraction technique, the severity of lesions
resulting from RF ablation is reduced.7
Regarding active cooling utilizing a dedicated device, three studies
have been completed. The device used in these studies is commercially
available and is FDA cleared as a thermal regulating device intended to
connect to an external heat exchanger to control patient temperature,
allow enteral administration of fluids, and provide gastric
decompression and suctioning for a duration of up to 72 hours. In
addition to the IMPACT study cited by Houmsse and Daoud, which found an
83% reduction in esophageal lesion formation using this device, two
prior pilot studies have been performed.8-10 Clark et
al. performed the first investigation, comparing manual liquid
instillation to the active cooling device in a small pilot RCT, and
found that the extent of esophageal injury was less severe with the
active cooling device.9 Tschabrunn et al. performed a
pilot RCT comparing single-sensor LET monitoring to the active cooling
device and found that severe lesion reduction was 67% with active
cooling despite adjunctive posterior wall isolation being performed more
frequently in patients randomized to active cooling.10
We believe these additional studies further support the conclusions of
Houmsse and Daoud, and with growing interest in this topic and an
increasing focus on improving overall procedural safety, we expect
ongoing study in this area.
1. Houmsse M, Daoud EG. Protection of the esophagus during catheter
ablation of atrial fibrillation. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol.2021 DOI: 10.1111/jce.14934.
2. Schoene K, Arya A, Grashoff F, et al. Oesophageal Probe Evaluation in
Radiofrequency Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation (OPERA): results from a
prospective randomized trial. Europace. 2020;22(10):1487-1494.
3. Chen S, Schmidt B, Seeger A, et al. Catheter ablation of atrial
fibrillation using ablation index-guided high power (50 W) for pulmonary
vein isolation with or without esophageal temperature probe (the AI-HP
ESO II). Heart Rhythm. 2020;17(11):1833-1840.
4. Meininghaus DG, Blembel K, Waniek C, et al. Temperature monitoring
and temperature-driven irrigated radiofrequency energy titration do not
prevent thermally induced esophageal lesions in pulmonary vein
isolation: A randomized study controlled by esophagoscopy before and
after catheter ablation. Heart Rhythm. 2021 DOI:
10.1016/j.hrthm.2021.02.003.
5. John J, Garg L, Orosey M, Desai T, Haines DE, Wong WS. The effect of
esophageal cooling on esophageal injury during radiofrequency catheter
ablation of atrial fibrillation. J Interv Card Electrophysiol.2020;58(1):43-50.
6. Sohara H, Satake S, Takeda H, Yamaguchi Y, Nagasu N. Prevalence of
esophageal ulceration after atrial fibrillation ablation with the hot
balloon ablation catheter: what is the value of esophageal cooling?Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology. 2014;25(7):686-692.
7. Leung LW, Gallagher MM, Santangeli P, et al. Esophageal cooling for
protection during left atrial ablation: a systematic review and
meta-analysis. J Interv Card Electrophysiol. 2020;59(2):347-355.
8. Leung LWM, Bajpai A, Zuberi Z, et al. Randomized comparison of
oesophageal protection with a temperature control device: results of the
IMPACT study. Europace. 2021;23(2):205-215.
9. Clark B, Alvi N, Hanks J, Suprenant B. A Pilot Study of an Esophageal
Cooling Device During Radiofrequency Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation.medRxiv. 2020:2020.2001.2027.20019026.
10. Tschabrunn CM, Attalla S, Salas J, et al. Active esophageal cooling
for the prevention of thermal injury during atrial fibrillation
ablation: a randomized controlled pilot study. J Interv Card
Electrophysiol. 2021 DOI: 10.1007/s10840-021-00960-w.