Objective To analyze the current status and hotspots of surgical transmural ablation of atrial fibrillation using CiteSpace and VOSviewer. MethodsThe Web of Science Core Collection database was used as the data source. The CiteSpace 5.8.R3 and VOSviewer software were used to analyze the related studies on surgical transmural ablation of atrial fibrillation about the authors, countries/institutions, literature co-citation and keywords. Results A total of 109 articles were enrolled. Damiano RJ was the most prolific researcher, while Cox JL was the author with the highest number of citations. The United States was the leading country in this research field. The University of Washington was an important institution in the study of atrial fibrillation transmural ablation. The main hotpots were the effectiveness of surgical ablation, especially Cox-maze procedure, selection of the energy source of surgical ablation, combination of surgical and catheter ablations, and pulmonary vein isolation. ConclusionThis study visualizes the current research status of surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation. How to improve the effectiveness and transmurality of surgical ablation is a hot research topic in the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation. The combination of electrophysiology mapping and surgical ablation may be the development direction in the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation.
Atrial fibrillation is one of the most common arrhythmia. Cardiac mapping technology, an important method to study the electrophysiological mechanism of atrial fibrillation, can determine the abnormal origin and record the distribution and transmission way of these atrial electrical signals. This technology offers a new way for research the electrophysiological mechanism of atrial fibrillation. The purpose of this study is to review the research progress of cardiac mapping in the electrophysiological mechanism of atrial fibrillation and clinical application.
ObjectivesTo systematically review the relationship between hypothyroidism and the risk of atrial fibrillation.MethodPubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, CBM, VIP and WanFang Data databases were electronically searched to collect cohort and case-control studies on the association between hypothyroidism and atrial fibrillation from inception to November 2019. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Meta-analysis was then performed using RevMan 5.3 software.ResultsA total of 5 cohort studies involving 574 268 subjects and 18 059 atrial fibrillation cases were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that hypothyroidism was not associated with atrial fibrillation (OR=1.10, 95%CI 0.75 to 1.61, P=0.62). From subgroup analysis, no relationship was identified in community population (OR=0.97, 95%CI 0.72 to 1.29, P=0.82) and cardiac surgery patients (OR=1.22, 95%CI 0.58 to 2.53, P=0.60).ConclusionsHypothyroidism does not increase the risk of atrial fibrillation. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high-quality studies are required to verify the above conclusions.
Objective To evaluate the efficacy of Radiofrequency （RF） modified maze procedure combined with open-heart surgery for atrial fibrillation （AF）. Methods From January 2003 to October 2004, 66 patients underwent the RF modified maze Ⅲ procedure for AF combined with open-heart surgery. The preoperative and postoperative indexes of electrocardiogram and echoeardiogram were compared through retrospective analysis and follow-up. Postoperative cardiac function and thromboembolie events were evaluated through telephone and mail. Results The time needed for RF modified maze Ⅲ was 18.61±3.56 min. There were no hospital deaths and the complications was 15.15%（10/66）. Follow-up duration was 14.25±6.47 months with 95.45%（63/66） completion. At the lastest follow-up, the rate of freedom from AF was 80.95% （51/63）and the rate of restoration to sinus rhythm was 74.60%（47/63）. No thromboembolic events was seen. 77.78%（49/63） of patients were in NYHA class Ⅰ. Significant decrease was seen in both left atrial dimension （LAD） and left ventricular dimension （LVD）（P〈0.01） more than 6 months after operation. Conclusion RF modified maze Ⅲ procedure as an adjunctive procedure is safe, time-sparing and effective in eliminating AF.
ObjectiveTo analyze the clinical presentations and radiological characteristics of pulmonary vein stenosis after radiofrequency ablation.
MethodsClinical and radiological data of 2 patients with pulmonary vein stenosis after radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation were retrospectively analyzed and literatures were reviewed.
ResultsBoth patients had undergone circumferential pulmonary vein isolation. The symptoms appeared approximately 2 months after the operation. The major symptoms were cough, hemoptysis, exacerbation of dyspnea and chest pain. Both patients were misdiagnosed as other diseases such as pneumonia in other hospitals, and the anti-infection therapy was invalid. Both CT scans showed parenchymal exudative consolidation with varying degrees of interstitial septal thickening and small nodules. Both patients were confirmed as pulmonary vein stenosis by CT angiography. Literature review identified 21 cases of pulmonary vein stenosis after radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation. The main clinical features are hemoptysis, chest pain, shortness of breath and cough. The most common features of thoracic radiological imaging are consolidation, groud-glass attenuation, pleural effusion and interstitial septal thickening.
ConclusionsIf a patient presents with hemoptysis, dyspnea, chest pain or other clinical manifestations after ablation therapy and image findings show parenchymal exudative consolidation with interstitial septal thickening and multiple small nodules, the possibility of pulmonary vein stenosis should be considered. Contrast-enhanced CT combined with pulmonary vein imaging technology can clearly show the opening diameter of each pulmonary vein and its branches, so it is an important non-invasive examination method for the evaluation and diagnosis of pulmonary vein stenosis.
The Chinese Guidelines on Diagnosis and Management of Atrial Fibrillation, jointly formulated by the Chinese Society of Cardiology, Chinese Medical Association and the Heart Rhythm Committee of Chinese Society of Biomedical Engineering, was first released on June 15, 2023. The guidelines elaborate the various aspects of atrial fibrillation management, in which emergency management of atrial fibrillation is also an integral part. This article interpreted the emergency management part in the guidelines in detail by reviewing relevant literature.
Abstract： Objective To explore a new videoassisted thoracoscopic surgical treatment for lone atrial fibrillation, in order to seek better efficacy, reduce invasiveness, and devise an easiertooperate surgical treatment for atrial fibrillation. Methods In June 2011, 3 women aged 40 years, 60 years, and 66 years with lone atrial fibrillation were treated in the Cardiovascular Surgery Department of West China Hospital. The patients underwent a videoassisted thoracoscopic “Box Lesion” bipolar radiofrequency atrial fibrillation therapy (bilateral pulmonary vein + left atrial posterior wall isolation), including three 5 to 10 mm small incisions on each side of the chest wall. The complications and sinus rhythm maintenance of the patients were observed. Results The operative times were 140 min, 170 min, and 155 min. The three patients were in sinus rhythm immediately after the surgery. Mean blood loss was approximately 80 ml, mean intensive care unit (ICU) stay was 1 day, and average hospital stay was 7 days. No deaths and serious complications occurred. The three patients were still in sinus rhythm one week and one month after the operation, as measured by electrocardiogram. Conclusion Box Lesion bipolar radiofrequency treatment for atrial fibrillation therapy shows fast postoperative recovery. It is a promising procedure in atrial fibrillation treatment and is worthy of further study.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most common clinical arrhythmia. In recent years, basic researches on AF have made a great progress. Radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) has been widely used as a nonpharmacological treatment for AF. However, recurrence rate of AF is high even after RFCA. So we need to find the influencing factors of the recurrence of AF early. Choosing patients who have better indications can improve the success rate of RFCA and reduce recurrence rate.
Objective To evaluate the value of preoperative B-type natriuretic peptide （BNP） level in predicting new onset atrial fibrillation （AF） in patients after coronary artery bypass grafting （CABG）. Methods We electronically searched PubMed，EMbase，Cochrane library，CNKI and VIP databases from the establishment of those databases to November 2012. Evaluation standard of diagnostic tests was used to identify and screen literatures which investigated correlations between preoperative BNP levels and new onset AF of patients after CABG. Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies （QUADAS） was used to evaluate study quality of included literatures. RevMan 5.0 was used for heterogeneity test. Meta-Disc 1.4 software was used for meta-analysis. Included studies were weighted and then combined. Sensitivity，specificity，diag- nostic odds ratio （DOR），positive likelihood ratio，negative likelihood ratio and corresponding 95% confidence interval（95% CI）were calculated. Summary receiver operating characteristic （SROC） curve was drawn，and the area under the SROC curve （AUC） was analyzed. Results A total of 236 studies were identi?ed，and 5 studies met the eligibility criteria including 802 patients for analysis. There were 228 patients with postoperative new onset AF，and 574 patients without postoperative AF. The quality of the included literature was relatively high. DOR of preoperative elevated BNP level with postoperative new onset AF was 4.15 with 95% CI 2.90 to 5.95. Pooled sensitivity was 0.78 with 95% CI 0.72 to 0.83，pooled specificity was 0.58 with 95% CI 0.54 to 0.58，pooled positive likelihood ratio was 1.91 with 95% CI 1.42 to 1.56，pooled negative likelihood ratio was 0.42 with 95% CI 0.32 to 0.54，and the AUC of SROC was 0.79 （Q=0.72）. Conclusion Preoperative elevated BNP level is significantly correlated with new onset AF after CABG，is a powerful predictor of postoperative AF，and can be used to predict new onset AF after CABG to a certain extent of reliability.
Objective
To evaluate the safety and efficacy of biatrial Cox Maze Ⅳ cryoablation for concomitant atrial fibrillation (AF) during minimally invasive valve surgery.
Methods
A total of 47 patients (26 males, 21 females, age of 42-69 years) with mitral valve disease and long-standing persistent AF received minimally invasive biatrial Cox Maze Ⅳ cryoablation procedure combined with mitral valve surgery through right minithoracotomy from January 2014 to September 2015. The etiology of mitral valve disease was rheumatic (n=31) and degenerative (n=16). AF duration ranged from 2 to 11 years. Diameter of the left atrium ranged from 43 to 60 mm. Concomitant biatrial Cox Maze Ⅳ cryoablation procedure was performed through right lateral minithoracotomy.
Results
All 47 patients successfully underwent this minimally invasive concomitant biatrial Cox Maze Ⅳ cryoablation procedure and valve surgery. No patient needed conversion to sternotomy during the surgery. The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time, aortic cross-clamp time and cryoablation time was 95-146 (120.3±12.3) min, 82-115 (93.3±7.7) min and 32-48 (38.6±4.5) min, respectively. There was no death perioperatively. The average postoperative length of hospital stay was 5-16 (7.9±1.9) d. At discharge, 44 patients (44/47, 93.6%) maintained sinus rhythm. At a mean follow-up of 6-26 (14.4±5.4) months, sinus rhythm was maintained in 41 patients (41/47, 87.2%). Cumulative maintenance rate of normal sinus rhythm without AF recurrence at one year postoperatively was 86.3%±5.8%.
Conclusion
Biatrial Cox Maze Ⅳ cryoablation procedure is safe, feasible and effective for AF during concomitant minimally invasive valve surgery.
