Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39523910›Full record

ArticleEuropean journal of heart failure2025

Preventive catheter ablation for ventricular arrhythmias in patients with end-stage heart failure referred for heart transplantation evaluation: Rationale for and design of the CASTLE-VT trial.

Christian Sohns, Thomas Fink, Harry J G M Crijns, Angelika Costard-Jaeckle, Nassir F Marrouche, Samuel Sossalla, Rene Schramm, Mustapha El Hamriti, Maximilian Moersdorf, Maxim Didenko and 8 more

Abstract readClinical Trial Protocol
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in European journal of heart failure, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

5 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Ventricular arrhythmias following left ventricular assist device implantation: a systematic review and meta-analysis of incidence and clinical impact.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
    Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Efficacy and safety of ventricular tachycardia ablation versus antiarrhythmics in ischemic cardiomyopathy: a network meta-analysis.Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing · 2026
    Article
  5. 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

18 authors.

Christian SohnsClinic for Electrophysiology, Herz- und Diabeteszentrum NRW, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Med. Fakultät OWL (Universität Bielefeld), Bad Oeynhausen, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0490-5862
Thomas FinkClinic for Electrophysiology, Herz- und Diabeteszentrum NRW, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Med. Fakultät OWL (Universität Bielefeld), Bad Oeynhausen, Germany.
Harry J G M CrijnsDepartment of Cardiology and CARIM, Maastricht University, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Angelika Costard-JaeckleClinic for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Herz- und Diabeteszentrum NRW, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Med. Fakultät OWL (Universität Bielefeld), Bad Oeynhausen, Germany.
Nassir F MarroucheCardiology Department, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA.
Samuel SossallaDepartment of Cardiology and Angiology, University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany.
Rene SchrammClinic for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Herz- und Diabeteszentrum NRW, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Med. Fakultät OWL (Universität Bielefeld), Bad Oeynhausen, Germany.
Mustapha El HamritiClinic for Electrophysiology, Herz- und Diabeteszentrum NRW, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Med. Fakultät OWL (Universität Bielefeld), Bad Oeynhausen, Germany.
Maximilian MoersdorfClinic for Electrophysiology, Herz- und Diabeteszentrum NRW, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Med. Fakultät OWL (Universität Bielefeld), Bad Oeynhausen, Germany.
Maxim DidenkoClinic for Electrophysiology, Herz- und Diabeteszentrum NRW, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Med. Fakultät OWL (Universität Bielefeld), Bad Oeynhausen, Germany.
Martin BraunClinic for Electrophysiology, Herz- und Diabeteszentrum NRW, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Med. Fakultät OWL (Universität Bielefeld), Bad Oeynhausen, Germany.
Vanessa SciaccaClinic for Electrophysiology, Herz- und Diabeteszentrum NRW, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Med. Fakultät OWL (Universität Bielefeld), Bad Oeynhausen, Germany.
Frank KonietschkeInstitute of Biometry and Clinical Epidemiology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Volker RudolphClinic for General and Interventional Cardiology/Angiology, Herz- und Diabeteszentrum NRW, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Med. Fakultät OWL (Universität Bielefeld), Bad Oeynhausen, Germany.
Jan GummertClinic for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Herz- und Diabeteszentrum NRW, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Med. Fakultät OWL (Universität Bielefeld), Bad Oeynhausen, Germany.
Jan G P TijssenDepartment of Cardiology, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Philipp SommerClinic for Electrophysiology, Herz- und Diabeteszentrum NRW, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Med. Fakultät OWL (Universität Bielefeld), Bad Oeynhausen, Germany.
CASTLE‐VT Investigators

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimsTimely referrals for transplantation and left ventricular assist device (LVAD) play a key role in favourable outcomes in patients with advanced heart failure (HF). Cardiovascular mortality, driven by sudden cardiac death, is the main reason for dying while waiting for heart transplantation (HTx). The purpose of the Preventive Catheter Ablation for ventricular arrhythmiaS in patients with end-sTage heart faiLure rEferred for heart transplantation eValuaTion (CASTLE-VT) trial is to test the hypothesis that prophylactic catheter ablation of arrhythmogenic ventricular scar tissue will reduce mortality, need for LVAD implantation, and urgent HTx in patients with end-stage HF related to ischaemic cardiomyopathy (ICM).

methodsCASTLE-VT is a randomized evaluation of prophylactic ablative treatment of arrhythmogenic ventricular scar in patients referred for HTx evaluation and diagnosed with ICM. Ablation will be performed with the use of a substrate-based approach in which the myocardial scar is mapped and ablated while the heart remains predominantly in sinus rhythm. The primary endpoint is the composite of all-cause mortality, worsening of HF requiring prioritized transplantation or LVAD implantation. The main secondary study endpoints are all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, incidence of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy, hospitalizations, quality of life, time to first ICD therapy, number of device-detected ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation episodes, left ventricular function, and exercise tolerance. CASTLE-VT will randomize 160 patients with a follow-up period of 2 years.

conclusionCASTLE-VT will determine whether prophylactic catheter ablation of arrhythmogenic ventricular scar tissue reduces mortality in patients with end-stage HF who are referred for HTx evaluation.

Indexed as

Catheter AblationDeath, Sudden, CardiacHeart FailureHeart TransplantationTachycardia, VentricularEquivalence Trials as TopicFemaleHeart-Assist DevicesHumansMaleCatheter ablationHeart failureHeart transplantationIschaemic cardiomyopathyLeft ventricular assist deviceVentricular arrhythmias

Identifiers

PMID39523910
PMCPMC12034436

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Registered trials

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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.