Transseptal Needle Versus Radiofrequency Energy for Left Atrial Access

Heart Diseases Clinical Trial

— TRAVERSE-LA  

Official title:

Transseptal Needle Versus Radiofrequency Energy for Left Atrial Access (TRAVERSE-LA): A Randomized Controlled Trial

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT01209260
• Other study ID #: MarcusHsu
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: September 9, 2010
• Last updated: January 28, 2014
• Start date: November 2010
• Est. completion date: November 2012

Study information

• Verified date: January 2014
• Source: University of California, San Francisco
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: United States: Institutional Review Board
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

This is a randomized controlled trial examining whether a mechanical needle versus a needle that uses radiofrequency energy is better at puncturing through a thin wall in the heart (called "transseptal puncture") as measured by procedure time, during an electrical procedure/study of the heart .

Description:

Transseptal puncture is a commonly performed procedure allowing access to the left atrium for catheter ablation. Historically, a conventional Brockenbrough needle has been used for this procedure to mechanically puncture the fossa ovalis, which has been well described in the literature.1, 2 Although generally safe, serious complications such as perforation of the atrial wall or aorta can occur.3, 4

Previous studies have evaluated the feasibility and safety of radiofrequency (RF) energy applied to a conventional needle as a technique to access the left atrium, particularly in patients with a repeat procedure, fibrotic septum or aneurysmal septum.5, 6 As a result of this earlier work, a special proprietary device has been designed. The NRG RF needle (Baylis Medical Inc., Montreal, Canada), uses radiofrequency energy emitted from the needle tip to aid in transseptal access. Despite limited literature to support its superiority and safety7-9compared to the conventional approach, the new device has become adopted in some electrophysiology procedures involving a transseptal puncture.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 72
• Est. completion date: November 2012
• Est. primary completion date: November 2012
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Both
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients undergoing radiofrequency ablation within the left atrium through a transseptal approach

• Patients greater than 18 years of age

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients unable to grant informed, written consent

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Safety/Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Single Blind (Subject), Primary Purpose: Treatment

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Heart Diseases

Intervention

Device:
• Radiofrequency energy needle
Radiofrequency energy needle for transseptal access
• Mechanical Needle
Mechanical needle for transseptal access

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	University of California, San Francisco	San Francisco	California

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of California, San Francisco	Baylis Medical Company

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

References & Publications (9)

B-Lundqvist C, Olsson SB, Varnauskas E. Transseptal left heart catheterization: a review of 278 studies. Clin Cardiol. 1986 Jan;9(1):21-6. — View Citation

Bidart C, Vaseghi M, Cesario DA, Mahajan A, Fujimura O, Boyle NG, Shivkumar K. Radiofrequency current delivery via transseptal needle to facilitate septal puncture. Heart Rhythm. 2007 Dec;4(12):1573-6. Epub 2007 Jul 14. — View Citation

Crystal MA, Mirza MA, Benson LN. A radiofrequency transseptal needle: initial animal studies. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2010 Nov 1;76(5):769-73. doi: 10.1002/ccd.22600. — View Citation

De Ponti R, Cappato R, Curnis A, Della Bella P, Padeletti L, Raviele A, Santini M, Salerno-Uriarte JA. Trans-septal catheterization in the electrophysiology laboratory: data from a multicenter survey spanning 12 years. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2006 Mar 7;47(5):1037-42. Epub 2006 Feb 9. — View Citation

Justino H, Benson LN, Nykanen DG. Transcatheter creation of an atrial septal defect using radiofrequency perforation. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2001 Sep;54(1):83-7. — View Citation

Roelke M, Smith AJ, Palacios IF. The technique and safety of transseptal left heart catheterization: the Massachusetts General Hospital experience with 1,279 procedures. Cathet Cardiovasc Diagn. 1994 Aug;32(4):332-9. — View Citation

ROSS J Jr, BRAUNWALD E, MORROW AG. Transseptal left atrial puncture; new technique for the measurement of left atrial pressure in man. Am J Cardiol. 1959 May;3(5):653-5. — View Citation

Sakata Y, Feldman T. Transcatheter creation of atrial septal perforation using a radiofrequency transseptal system: novel approach as an alternative to transseptal needle puncture. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2005 Mar;64(3):327-32. — View Citation

Smelley MP, Shah DP, Weisberg I, Kim SS, Lin AC, Beshai JF, Burke MC, Knight BP. Initial experience using a radiofrequency powered transseptal needle. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 2010 Apr;21(4):423-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-8167.2009.01656.x. Epub 2009 Nov 17. — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Transseptal Access Procedure Time	Total amount of procedure time, from the beginning of the transseptal procedure until left atrium (LA) access is obtained in each patient. Participants for whom puncture failed crossed over to the other Intervention. Analysis performed on an intention-to-treat basis.	Day of procedure	No
Secondary	Number of Participants With Adverse Events as a Measure of Safety		During or immediately after procedure, up to 1 day after procedure. On average, up to 1 day after the procedure.	Yes
Secondary	Performance of the Assigned Needle Type	Failure to achieve transseptal access with the assigned needle type resulted in crossover because of an inability to puncture the interatrial septem despite forward pressure and tenting, leading to concern that further effort might lead to perforation of the free (lateral) LA wall.	at time of procedure	No
Secondary	Plastic Dilator Shavings	In ex vivo pre-procedural testing, the assigned transseptal needle was advanced through the plastic dilator and sheath, and the presence of grossly visible plastic shavings after introduction of the needle through the dilator and long sheath was recorded.	immediately prior to procedure	Yes