Pericarditis After Catheter Ablation for AF: Predictors and Outcomes
abstract
This abstract is available on the publisher's site.
Access this abstract now Full Text Available for ClinicalKey SubscribersBACKGROUND
Catheter ablation is a mainstay of atrial fibrillation (AF) treatment. Acute pericarditis after ablation is 1 of the frequently observed complications. There is a significant lack of data on the incidence and predictors of postablation pericarditis.
OBJECTIVES
This study examines the incidence, characteristics, and predictors of pericarditis after AF ablation.
METHODS
Patients undergoing AF ablation from January 1, 2016, to March 31, 2022, at Johns Hopkins were prospectively enrolled in an AF ablation registry. A clinical diagnosis of acute pericarditis was established in accordance with 2015 European Society of Cardiology guidelines by the presence of at least 2 of the following characteristics: pleuritic chest pain, friction rub, typical electrocardiographic changes, or pericardial effusion within 3 months after the ablation procedure.
RESULTS
Of 1,540 patients who underwent AF ablation, 57 patients (3.7%) developed acute pericarditis. Baseline clinical characteristics including age, sex, and body mass index were comparable between the pericarditis and nonpericarditis groups. The median time to symptom onset was 1 day. Electrocardiographic changes were observed in 34 (59.6%) patients, pericardial effusion developed in 7 (12%) patients, and the mean duration of medical treatment was 7 days (25th-75th percentile: 3-14 days). Most pericarditis cases were treated medically with disease-specific nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (100%) and colchicine (81%). Effusion with tamponade necessitating pericardiocentesis was observed in 4 (7%) patients. Radiofrequency (RF) ablation was performed in 869 (58.6%) patients in the nonpericarditis group and 39 (68.4%) patients with pericarditis; cryoballoon ablation was performed in 486 (32.8%) patients in the nonpericarditis group and 11 (19.3%) patients with pericarditis. Multivariable logistic regression analysis identified RF ablation (OR: 2.09; 95% CI: 1.07-4.08; P = 0.03) as an independent predictor of acute pericarditis after AF ablation, whereas age per unit increase was associated with a decreased risk (OR: 0.97; 95% CI: 0.95-0.995; P = 0.02).
CONCLUSIONS
The incidence of acute pericarditis after catheter ablation in our study population was 3.7%. RF ablation and younger age were independent risk factors for postablation acute pericarditis.
Click on any of these tags to subscribe to Topic Alerts. Once subscribed, you can get a single, daily email any time PracticeUpdate publishes content on the topics that interest you.
Visit your Preferences and Settings section to Manage All Topic Alerts
Additional Info
Pericarditis After Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation: Predictors and Outcomes
JACC Clin Electrophysiol 2023 Nov 14;[EPub Ahead of Print], R Yadav, DI Satti, J Malwankar, C Lopez-Silva, L Xu, E Liebow-Feeser, T Akhtar, JE Marine, R Berger, H Calkins, D SpraggFrom MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.