ArticleEuropace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology2015
EFFICAS II: optimization of catheter contact force improves outcome of pulmonary vein isolation for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.
Article in Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 163 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Left Atrial Liner Block Using Contact-force Catheter in Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation
Contact-Force-Sensing-Based Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation in Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardias: a Randomized Controlled Trial
Who cites it
163 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 377 citations in OpenAlex.
- Durability of pulmonary vein isolation for atrial fibrillation: a meta-analysis and systematic review.Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Cavotricuspid isthmus ablation for atrial flutter guided by contact force related parameters: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Impact of contact force technology on reducing the recurrence and major complications of atrial fibrillation ablation: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Anatolian journal of cardiology · 2017Pooled it
- Cavotricuspid isthmus ablation guided by force-time integral - A randomized study.Clinical cardiology · 2022Trial
- Recurrent atrial arrhythmia in a randomised controlled trial comparing contact force-guided and contact force-blinded ablation for typical atrial flutter.Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing · 2022Trial
- Ablation Index-guided point-by-point ablation versus Grid annotation-guided dragging for pulmonary vein isolation: A randomized controlled trial.Journal of cardiovascular electrophysiology · 2022Trial
- Contact force facilitates the achievement of an unexcitable ablation line during pulmonary vein isolation.Clinical research in cardiology : official journal of the German Cardiac Society · 2018Trial
- The relationship of early recurrence of atrial fibrillation and the 3-month integrity of the ablation lesion set.Scientific reports · 2018Trial
- Benefit of Contact Force Sensing Catheter Technology for Successful Left Atrial Anterior Line Formation: A Prospective Randomized Trial.BioMed research international · 2018Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- The Impact of Cryoballoon Versus Radiofrequency Ablation for Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation on Healthcare Utilization and Costs: An Economic Analysis From the FIRE AND ICE Trial.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2017Trial
- Clinical and experimental evaluation of averaged impedance drop during radiofrequency catheter ablation.Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing · 2026Article
- Beyond contact: troponin and the case for ablation index-guided AF ablation.Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing · 2026Article
- Three-Dimensional Left Atrial Geometry in Atrial Fibrillation: Imaging Biomarkers, Substrate Phenotyping, and Ablation Outcome Prediction.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Correlation between tissue temperature and ablation interval time under ultra-high-power short-duration ablation: Ex vivo porcine model.Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing · 2026Article
- Predicting atrial fibrillation recurrence after radiofrequency ablation using the AIFV system: a prospective observational study.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2026Observational
- Procedural Parameters in Predicting Late Recurrence Following Catheter Ablation of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Efficacy, safety, and somatosensory comparison of pulsed-field ablation and thermal ablation: outcomes from a 2-year follow-up.Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing · 2026Article
103 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsA challenge of pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) in catheter ablation for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) is electrical reconnection of the PV. EFFICAS I showed correlation between contact force (CF) parameters and PV durable isolation but no prospective evaluation was made. EFFICAS II was a multicentre study to prospectively assess the impact of CF guidance for an effective reduction of PVI gaps. METHODS AND
resultsPulmonary vein isolation using a radiofrequency (RF) ablation catheter with an integrated force sensor (TactiCath™) was performed in patients with PAF. Operators were provided EFFICAS I-based CF guidelines [target 20 g, range 10-30 g, minimum 400 g s force-time integral (FTI)]. Conduction gaps were assessed by remapping of PVs after 3 months, and gap rate was compared with EFFICAS I outcome. At follow up, 24 patients had 85% of PVs remaining isolated, compared with 72% in EFFICAS I (P = 0.037) in which CF guidelines were not used. The remaining 15% of gaps correlated to the number of catheter moves at creating the PVI line, quantified as Continuity Index. For PV lines with contiguous lesions and low catheter moves, durable isolation was 81% in EFFICAS I and 98% in EFFICAS II (P = 0.005). At index procedure, the number of lesions was reduced by 15% in EFFICAS II vs. EFFICAS I.
conclusionThe use of CF with the above guidelines and contiguous deployment of RF lesions in EFFICAS II study resulted in more durable PVI in catheter ablation of PAF.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.