Recommendations for the use of electrophysiological study: Update 2018

The field of cardiac electrophysiology has greatly developed during the past decades. Consequently, the use of electrophysiological studies (EPSs) in clinical practice has also significantly augmented, with a progressively increasing number of certified electrophysiology centers and specialists. Since Zipes et al published the Guidelines for Clinical Intracardiac Electrophysiology and Catheter Ablation Procedures in 1995, no official document summarizing current EPS indications has been published. The current paper focuses on summarizing all relevant data of the role of EPS in patients with different types of cardiac pathologies and provides up-to-date recommendations on this topic. For this purpose, the PubMed database was screened for relevant articles in English up to December 2018 and ESC and ACC/AHA Clinical Practice Guidelines, and EHRA/HRS/APHRS position statements related to the current topic were analyzed. Current recommendations for the use of EPS in clinical practice are discussed and presented in 17 distinct cardiac pathologies. A short rationale, evidence, and indications are provided for each cardiac disease/group of diseases. In conclusion, because of its capability to establish a diagnosis in patients with a variety of cardiac pathologies, the EPS remains a useful tool in the evaluation of patients with cardiac arrhythmias and conduction disorders and is capable of establishing indications for cardiac device implantation and guide catheter ablation procedures.

Simple and efficient identification of conduction gaps in post-ablation recurring atrial flutters

AIMS

Cavo-tricuspid isthmus (CTI) radiofrequency (RF) ablation is a curative therapy for common atrial flutter (AFl), but is associated with a recurrence rate of 5-26%. Although complete bidirectional conduction block is usually achieved, the recurrence of AF is due to recovered conducting isthmus tissue through which activation wavefronts pass. We evaluated a simple and efficient electrophysiological strategy, which pinpoints the ablation target.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Twenty-five patients (19 men), mean age 61 +/- 6, with recurrent AFl required a repeat ablation, 250 +/- 160 days after a successful RF CTI procedure. Transverse CTI conduction was monitored during AFl or coronary sinus (CS) pacing by a 24-pole mapping catheter positioned in the right atrium (RA), with the distal poles in the CS, proximal poles on the lateral RA, and intermediate poles on the CTI. A slow conduction area traversing the CTI (velocity, 37 +/- 22 vs. 98 +/- 26 cm/s on either side, P < 0.05) and a lower potential amplitude than at both sides (0.2 +/- 0.15 vs. 0.5 +/- 0.5 mV, P < 0.05), defined by a bayonet-shaped depolarization sequence, were considered to represent the incomplete line of block (InLOB). An ablation catheter was progressively dragged up to this InLOB, from the tricuspid annulus to the inferior vena cava, analysing the widely separated double potentials (DPs) until these coalesced. In nine patients (35%), the target conduction gap was a coalesced fractionated atrial potential within the InLOB (duration, 77 +/- 12 ms), and in 16 patients (65%), a narrow DP toward the healthy margins of this InLOB (duration, 28 +/- 15 ms). Adopting this strategy yields 100% successful re-ablation of recurring AFl leading to bidirectional block, with a mean 2.7 +/- 1.4 RF applications.

CONCLUSION

Transverse CTI mapping precisely locates the InLOB and helps find conduction gaps along the CTI in re-ablation procedures for common AFl.