Atrio-Esophageal Fistula clinical trials

Oesophageal Protection Study: A Multicentre Study.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common debilitating heart rhythm condition that can cause heart failure and negatively impact a patient's outlook in terms of symptoms and disability. It is an irregular fast heart rhythm disorder coming from the top chamber of the heart (left atrium). Catheter ablation treatment has been shown to be effective in controlling or eliminating AF and its associated symptoms. This is now a common and effective treatment option for patients suffering with AF. During ablation, thermal energy is applied in the top chamber of the heart (the left atrium) to abolish abnormal electrical signals that cause AF. It is generally a safe procedure, but one potential risk associated with this procedure is damage to the oesophagus caused by thermal energy being transmitted to the oesophagus from the heart. The oesophagus sits just behind the heart chamber where ablation work is performed, about 5mm away, so it is vulnerable to damage. Although the risk of severe oesophageal damage is low, if it occurs it can be serious as the patient may become very ill as a result. In a recent study, it was shown that a more advanced type of oesophageal probe that cools the oesophagus during ablation is better at protecting the oesophagus from ablation-related injury compared to the standard care probe currently used. As it was a single-centre study, more evidence is required before knowing if this type of probe is more effective in protecting the oesophagus. The purpose is to run a multi-centre randomized study to compare the safety of AF ablation when there is protection by the oesophageal cooling probe versus the standard of care oesophageal temperature monitoring probe. This means that there is a 50:50 chance of the new cooling probe being used during AF ablation for participants.