Outcome of the elective or online RF ablation of typical atrial flutter.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Radiofrequency ablation of the cavotricuspid isthmus is currently the first-choice treatment of typical atrial flutter and usually it is performed electively. The purpose of this study was to see whether performing on-line ablation has similar clinical results compared to the conventional strategy. METHODS Consecutive patients (465) who underwent ablation of the cavotricuspid isthmus for typical AFL at our electrophysiology laboratory in the 2008-2017 decade were studied. We evaluated the acute and long-term clinical outcomes of those who were treated electively (337) compared to those who had online ablation (128), that is within 24 hours of presenting to the Cardiology department. In patients treated on an emergency basis, a transoesophageal echocardiogram was performed to rule atrial thrombi when needed. RESULTS No significant intraprocedural difference was observed between the 2 patient groups, with comparable acute electrophysiological success (99% vs 98%) and serious complications. Even at the subsequent 4-year follow-up, there were no significant differences in the recurrence of typical AFL, onset of AF and other clinical events. CONCLUSIONS Online ablation of typical atrial flutter performed at the time of the clinical presentation of the arrhythmia, was shown to be comparable in terms of procedural safety and clinical efficacy in the short and long term compared to an elective ablation strategy.