Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34988511›Full record

ArticleHeart rhythm O22021

Preventing esophageal complications from atrial fibrillation ablation: A review.

Lisa W M Leung, Zaki Akhtar, Mary N Sheppard, John Louis-Auguste, Jamal Hayat, Mark M Gallagher

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Heart rhythm O2, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
23citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
6.6field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

23 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 52 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Esophageal injury, perforation, and fistula formation following atrial fibrillation ablation.Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing · 2024
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Influence of proton pump inhibitors on the incidence and clinical course of oesophageal fistula following catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation: a subanalysis of the POTTER-AF study.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 · 2025
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Comparative safety and effectiveness of cryoballoon versus radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The Egyptian heart journal : (EHJ) : official bulletin of the Egyptian Society of Cardiology · 2025
    Review
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. 2024 European Heart Rhythm Association/Heart Rhythm Society/Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society/Latin American Heart Rhythm Society expert consensus statement on catheter and surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation.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 · 2024
    Article
  13. Current Balloon Devices for Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation.Reviews in cardiovascular medicine · 2024
    Review
  14. Article
  15. Real-world results of oesophageal protection from a temperature control device during left atrial ablation.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 · 2023
    Article
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Procedural time reduction associated with active esophageal cooling during pulmonary vein isolation.Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing · 2022
    Article
  19. Article
  20. The esophagus going steady.Journal of cardiovascular electrophysiology · 2022
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Lisa W M LeungDepartment of Cardiology, St George's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom.
Zaki AkhtarDepartment of Cardiology, St George's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom.
Mary N SheppardCardiac Pathology Unit, St. George's University of London, London, United Kingdom.
John Louis-AugusteDepartment of Gastroenterology, St George's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom.
Jamal HayatDepartment of Gastroenterology, St George's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom.
Mark M GallagherDepartment of Cardiology, St George's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom.
St George's Hospital · GBSt George's, University of London · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Atrioesophageal fistula is a life-threatening complication of ablation treatment for atrial fibrillation. Methods to reduce the risk of esophageal injury have evolved over the last decade, and diagnosis of this complication remains difficult and therefore challenging to treat in a timely manner. Delayed diagnosis leads to treatment occurring in the context of a critically ill patient, contributing to the poor prognosis associated with this complication. The associated mortality risk can be as high as 70%. Recent important advances in preventative techniques are explored in this review. Preventative techniques used in current clinical practice are discussed, which include high-power short-duration ablation, esophageal temperature probe monitoring, cryotherapy and laser balloon technologies, and use of proton pump inhibitors. A lack of randomized clinical evidence for the effectiveness of these practical methods are found. Alternative methods of esophageal protection has emerged in recent years, including mechanical deviation of the esophagus and esophageal temperature control (esophageal cooling). Although these are fairly recent methods, we discuss the available evidence to date. Mechanical deviation of the esophagus is due to undergo its first randomized study. Recent randomized study on esophageal cooling has shown promise of its effectiveness in preventing thermal injuries. Lastly, novel ablation technology that may be the future of esophageal protection, pulsed field ablation, is discussed. The findings of this review suggest that more robust clinical evidence for esophageal protection methods is warranted to improve the safety of atrial fibrillation ablation.

Indexed as

Atrial fibrillation ablationAtrioesophageal fistulaComplicationsEsophageal protectionThermal injury

Identifiers

PMID34988511
PMCPMC8703125
OpenAlexW3200031643

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.