The effects of catheter choice on accessory pathway mapping efficiency

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Recent studies have assessed the use of a novel high density (HD) mapping catheter in pediatric patients, finding that the catheter is safe and effective in this population. However, there is a lack of understanding on use patterns of HD mapping technologies in this population and how these patterns affect intraprocedural workflows. The objective of this analysis was to assess the role of mapping catheter choice on the efficiency of accessory pathway localization and ablation in patients with structurally normal hearts treated in a pediatric EP setting. Acute data from 61 accessory pathway ablation cases in patients treated in a pediatric EP setting were prospectively collected from 14 hospitals in 6 countries in Europe and the US. Choice of mapping tools and strategy was left to physician discretion. Procedure data such as map collection duration and statistics were compared across three mapping catheter choices: Ablation Catheter (AC) (n=42), Linear Catheter (LC) (n=9), and HD Grid Catheter (HDC) (n=10). Of the 61 procedures, 16 cases were patients aged 0-12 years (26%), 34 aged 13-17 years (56%), and 5 aged 18+ years (18%). Distribution of catheter use was similar across age groups with HDC use of 13%, 15%, and 27%, respectively. Pathway location did not correlate with catheter choice. There was 0% incidence of congenital heart disease. Mean mapping times in the AC, LC, and HDC groups were 20.6±15.8, 18.8±12.9, and 14.2±13.8 minutes, respectively; differences in mapping times were not statistically significant but trended lower with higher density mapping. The mean number of mapping points used in each group was 44±46, 101±62, and 1521±908 points, respectively (p<.01). Ablation was attempted in 57 (93%) of cases with 100% acute success eliminating accessory pathway conduction. Ablation time was analyzed in patients receiving RF ablation (93% of treated; n=53); mean RF time was 526s in the AC group, 369s in the LC group, and 367s in the HDC group; differences were not statistically significant (p>.05). All groups had similar ablation target technique distributions including timing map and signal morphology. Mean procedure time was 2:11 (h:mm) in the AC group, 1:56 in the LC group, and 1:44 in the HDC group; differences were not statistically significant. Analysis of this cohort of pathways in a pediatric setting shows multipolar catheters may provide more mapping information in shorter times. RF ablation and procedure times also trend shorter in procedures with HD Grid used for mapping, regardless of anatomic location of pathway. Further analysis in a larger cohort may be warranted to validate these findings and explore use of open window mapping described elsewhere.