Additional data on protection of the esophagus during catheter ablation
of atrial fibrillation
Abstract
The excellent review by Houmsse and Daoud of techniques and methods
utilized to protect the esophagus from injury during atrial fibrillation
(AF) ablation appropriately concludes that considering the ease of use,
minimal side effects, and low costs associated with esophageal
protection devices, compelling evidence exists for use of esophageal
protection as routine care for AF ablation. Some additional data are
available which would warrant inclusion in further consideration of this
topic. Three recent studies have demonstrated the inability of LET
monitoring to protect the esophagus, whereas meta-analysis of three
studies of manual cooling using direct liquid instillation suggests that
this approach significantly reduced high-grade lesion formation (OR of
0.39, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.89). Moreover, three studies using a
commercially available cooling device FDA cleared for thermal regulation
have shown reductions in esophageal lesion severity without degradation
in ablation efficacy.