Positive clinical benefit on patient care, quality of life and symptoms after radiofrequency ablation with contact force in persistent atrial fibrillation: analyses from PRECEPT. (25th November 2020) - Natale, A
Abstract: Background: The management of persistent (PsAF) aims to prevent AF recurrence and associated disabilities while reducing side effects from treatment. Contact force (CF)-guided RF catheters have proven efficacious and safe for pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) to treat paroxysmal AF; however, there is limited evidence on clinical benefits with ablation of PsAF. Purpose: To assess long-term clinical effects on patients care, symptoms and QOL after CF-guided RF ablation in PsAF. Methods: PRECEPT was a multicenter study evaluating the safety and efficacy of CF RF catheters in the treatment of symptomatic PsAF (NCT02817776). PVI was performed with or without substrate modification. Patients were followed at 6, 9, 12 and 15 mos to collect the following data: Atrial Fibrillation Effect on Quality-of-Life (AFEQT) score, Canadian Cardiovascular Society Severity of Atrial Fibrillation (CCS-SAF) score, Class I/III AAD use, and incidence of cardioversion and cardiovascular hospitalization. Results: A total of 333 enrolled patients (65.4±8.8 yrs, 71.2% male, CHA2DS2-VASC score 2.3±1.5) underwent PVI. Compared to baseline, 1) improvements in the AFEQT composite and subscores were seen from 6–15 mos, exceeding Clinical Important Difference (±5 points) in majority of subjects (Figure), 2) proportion of CCS-SAF Class 0 patients (asymptomatic with respect to AF) rose from 0.7% to 81.0%, 3) class I/III AAD use was reduced from 97.0% to 24.7%, and 4) incidence of cardioversion decreased from 62.0% to 10.7%. Moreover, the 1-yr Kaplan-Meier estimate of freedom from hospitalization was 84.2% [95% CI: 80.2%, 88.2%]. Conclusion: CF-guided RF ablation in PsAF patients led to a clinically meaningful improvement in QOL, as well as a reduction in AAD use, cardioversion, and hospitalization. Funding Acknowledgement: Type of funding source: Private company. Main funding source(s): This study was funded by Biosense Webster, Inc.