Low incidence of adverse events for A-fib catheter ablation

(HealthDay)—The incidence of adverse events (AEs) is low for patients undergoing catheter ablation (CA) for atrial fibrillation (AF), according to a study published online Aug. 30 in JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology.

Michelle Samuel, M.P.H., from the McGill University Health Center Research Institute in Montreal, and colleagues examined the safety and incidence of peri-procedural AEs among patients who underwent CA for AF between 1999 and 2014 in Canada. The authors assessed the incidence and predictors of AEs within 30 days of CA.

The researchers found that 3.5 percent of the 6,388 patients who had a CA developed major AEs within 30 days of index CA; the most frequent was hemorrhage/hematoma (1.4 percent), followed by pericardial effusion requiring drainage (PERD; 1.0 percent) and cerebrovascular accident (CVA; 0.6 percent). The likelihood of PERD was higher post-discharge than during the index CA (P < 0.05). In patients with recent versus remote CA, CVA decreased by more than 50 percent (P < 0.05). The incidence of PERD and hemorrhage/hematoma was greater at first repeat CA versus index CA (P < 0.05 for both).

"CA is a relatively safe procedure with low incidence of major AEs," the authors write. "The incidence of procedure-related CVA appeared to decline significantly over time."

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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