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CompletedNCT01209260TRAVERSE-LAUpdated Feb 28, 2014Results posted

Transseptal Needle Versus Radiofrequency Energy for Left Atrial Access

An interventional study of Radiofrequency energy needle and Mechanical Needle in Heart Diseases, sponsored by University of California, San Francisco. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2014-02-28.

Sponsored by University of California, San Francisco · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
72
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
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Study summary

This is a randomized controlled trial examining whether a mechanical needle versus a needle that uses radiofrequency energy is better at puncturing through a thin wall in the heart (called "transseptal puncture") as measured by procedure time, during an electrical procedure/study of the heart .

Read the detailed description

Transseptal puncture is a commonly performed procedure allowing access to the left atrium for catheter ablation. Historically, a conventional Brockenbrough needle has been used for this procedure to mechanically puncture the fossa ovalis, which has been well described in the literature.1, 2 Although generally safe, serious complications such as perforation of the atrial wall or aorta can occur.3, 4

Previous studies have evaluated the feasibility and safety of radiofrequency (RF) energy applied to a conventional needle as a technique to access the left atrium, particularly in patients with a repeat procedure, fibrotic septum or aneurysmal septum.5, 6 As a result of this earlier work, a special proprietary device has been designed. The NRG RF needle (Baylis Medical Inc., Montreal, Canada), uses radiofrequency energy emitted from the needle tip to aid in transseptal access. Despite limited literature to support its superiority and safety7-9compared to the conventional approach, the new device has become adopted in some electrophysiology procedures involving a transseptal puncture.

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Conditions studied

  • Heart Diseases

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Keywords

  • Transseptal Puncture
  • Radiofrequency Energy
  • Left Atrium Access
  • Left Atrial Catheterization
  • Ablation
  • Transseptal Catheterization
  • Electrocautery
  • Catheter Ablation
  • Atrial Fibrillation
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In context

Heart Diseases

3,639 studies on the registry are indexed under Heart Diseases; 461 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 72 is below the median of 100 across 1,778 interventional studies indexed under Heart Diseases.

Browse Heart Diseases studies →

Lead sponsor

University of California, San Francisco is the lead sponsor of 2,132 studies on the registry; 375 are open to participants now.

Of its 262 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 196 (75%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Patients undergoing radiofrequency ablation within the left atrium through a transseptal approach
  • Patients greater than 18 years of age

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients unable to grant informed, written consent
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Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Participant)
Enrollment
72 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Radiofrequency energy needle

    Radiofrequency energy needle for transseptal access

    Device: Radiofrequency energy needle

  • Active comparator
    Mechanical needle

    Mechanical (Brockenbrough) needle for transseptal access

    Device: Mechanical Needle

Interventions

  • DeviceRadiofrequency energy needle

    Radiofrequency energy needle for transseptal access

    Also known as: Baylis Medical Inc. transseptal needle, NRG RF transseptal needle

  • DeviceMechanical Needle

    Mechanical needle for transseptal access

    Also known as: Brockenbrough Needle

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Transseptal Access Procedure Time

    Total amount of procedure time, from the beginning of the transseptal procedure until left atrium (LA) access is obtained in each patient. Participants for whom puncture failed crossed over to the other Intervention. Analysis performed on an intention-to-treat basis.

    Time frame: Day of procedure

Secondary outcomes

  1. Number of Participants With Adverse Events as a Measure of Safety

    Time frame: During or immediately after procedure, up to 1 day after procedure. On average, up to 1 day after the procedure.

  2. Performance of the Assigned Needle Type

    Failure to achieve transseptal access with the assigned needle type resulted in crossover because of an inability to puncture the interatrial septem despite forward pressure and tenting, leading to concern that further effort might lead to perforation of the free (lateral) LA wall.

    Time frame: at time of procedure

  3. Plastic Dilator Shavings

    In ex vivo pre-procedural testing, the assigned transseptal needle was advanced through the plastic dilator and sheath, and the presence of grossly visible plastic shavings after introduction of the needle through the dilator and long sheath was recorded.

    Time frame: immediately prior to procedure

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Results

Posted Jan 28, 2014

Participant flow

Between January 2011 and November 2012, 72 patients were randomized to 1 of 2 transseptal needle groups.

Participant flow — Overall Study
MilestoneRadiofrequency Energy NeedleMechanical Needle
Started3636
Completed3636
Not completed00

Outcome measures

PrimaryTransseptal Access Procedure Time

Total amount of procedure time, from the beginning of the transseptal procedure until left atrium (LA) access is obtained in each patient. Participants for whom puncture failed crossed over to the other Intervention. Analysis performed on an intention-to-treat basis.

Time frame:
Day of procedure
Reported as:
Median · minutes
Transseptal Access Procedure Time
minutesRadiofrequency Energy NeedleMechanical Needle
Transseptal Access Procedure Time2.3 (1.7 to 3.8)7.3 (2.7 to 14.1)
Statistical analysis
  • Radiofrequency Energy Needle vs Mechanical Needle · t-test, 2 sided · p = 0.005 (Statistical tests were 2-sided and considered significant if they yielded a p\<0.05)
SecondaryNumber of Participants With Adverse Events as a Measure of Safety
Time frame:
During or immediately after procedure, up to 1 day after procedure. On average, up to 1 day after the procedure.
Reported as:
Number · participants
Number of Participants With Adverse Events as a Measure of Safety
participantsRadiofrequency Energy NeedleMechanical Needle
Number of Participants With Adverse Events as a Measure of Safety11
SecondaryPerformance of the Assigned Needle Type

Failure to achieve transseptal access with the assigned needle type resulted in crossover because of an inability to puncture the interatrial septem despite forward pressure and tenting, leading to concern that further effort might lead to perforation of the free (lateral) LA wall.

Time frame:
at time of procedure
Reported as:
Number · participants
Performance of the Assigned Needle Type
participantsRadiofrequency Energy NeedleMechanical Needle
Success of assigned needle type3626
Failure of assigned needle type010
Statistical analysis
  • Radiofrequency Energy Needle vs Mechanical Needle · Chi-squared · p = <0.001 (Statistical tests were 2-sided and considered significant if they yielded a p\<0.05)
SecondaryPlastic Dilator Shavings

In ex vivo pre-procedural testing, the assigned transseptal needle was advanced through the plastic dilator and sheath, and the presence of grossly visible plastic shavings after introduction of the needle through the dilator and long sheath was recorded.

Time frame:
immediately prior to procedure
Reported as:
Number · Needles
Plastic Dilator Shavings
NeedlesRadiofrequency Energy NeedleMechanical Needle
Plastic Dilator Shavings012
Statistical analysis
  • Radiofrequency Energy Needle vs Mechanical Needle · Chi-squared · p = <0.001 (Statistical tests were 2-sided and considered significant if they yielded a p\<0.05.)

Adverse events

Collected over During or immediately after procedure, up to 1 day after procedure. On average, up to 1 day after the procedure.. Non-serious events are listed at a 5% frequency threshold.

Adverse event summary by group
GroupDeathsSeriousOther
Radiofrequency Energy Needle (RF)—1/36 (2.8%)0/36 (0%)
Mechanical Needle—1/36 (2.8%)0/36 (0%)
Most frequent serious events
Most frequent serious events
EventRadiofrequency Energy Needle (RF)Mechanical Needle
Pericardial effusionCardiac disorders1/360/36
Transient ischemic attackVascular disorders0/361/36

Baseline characteristics

per protocol

Age, Continuous
Age, Continuous(years)Radiofrequency Energy NeedleMechanical NeedleTotal
Mean59.9 ± 11.361.1 ± 11.760.5 ± 11.4
Sex: Female, Male
Sex: Female, Male(Participants)Radiofrequency Energy NeedleMechanical NeedleTotal
Female111324
Male252348
Region of Enrollment
Region of Enrollment(participants)Radiofrequency Energy NeedleMechanical NeedleTotal
United States363672
Previous stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA)
Previous stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA)(participants)Radiofrequency Energy NeedleMechanical NeedleTotal
Previous stroke or TIA235
No previous stroke or TIA343367
Indication for transseptal puncture
Indication for transseptal puncture(participants)Radiofrequency Energy NeedleMechanical NeedleTotal
Atrial fibrillation353570
Accessory pathway112
History of transseptal puncture
History of transseptal puncture(participants)Radiofrequency Energy NeedleMechanical NeedleTotal
Previous transseptal puncture121022
No previous transseptal puncture242650
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Study locations

1 site
  • University of California, San Francisco
    San Francisco, California 94143, United States
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References and documents

Publications

  • ROSS J Jr, BRAUNWALD E, MORROW AG. Transseptal left atrial puncture; new technique for the measurement of left atrial pressure in man. Am J Cardiol. 1959 May;3(5):653-5. doi: 10.1016/0002-9149(59)90347-9. No abstract available. PubMed 13649591 ↗
  • B-Lundqvist C, Olsson SB, Varnauskas E. Transseptal left heart catheterization: a review of 278 studies. Clin Cardiol. 1986 Jan;9(1):21-6. doi: 10.1002/clc.4960090105. PubMed 3943231 ↗
  • Roelke M, Smith AJ, Palacios IF. The technique and safety of transseptal left heart catheterization: the Massachusetts General Hospital experience with 1,279 procedures. Cathet Cardiovasc Diagn. 1994 Aug;32(4):332-9. doi: 10.1002/ccd.1810320409. PubMed 7987913 ↗
  • De Ponti R, Cappato R, Curnis A, Della Bella P, Padeletti L, Raviele A, Santini M, Salerno-Uriarte JA. Trans-septal catheterization in the electrophysiology laboratory: data from a multicenter survey spanning 12 years. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2006 Mar 7;47(5):1037-42. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2005.10.046. Epub 2006 Feb 9. PubMed 16516090 ↗
  • Bidart C, Vaseghi M, Cesario DA, Mahajan A, Fujimura O, Boyle NG, Shivkumar K. Radiofrequency current delivery via transseptal needle to facilitate septal puncture. Heart Rhythm. 2007 Dec;4(12):1573-6. doi: 10.1016/j.hrthm.2007.07.008. Epub 2007 Jul 14. No abstract available. PubMed 17997362 ↗
  • Justino H, Benson LN, Nykanen DG. Transcatheter creation of an atrial septal defect using radiofrequency perforation. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2001 Sep;54(1):83-7. doi: 10.1002/ccd.1244. PubMed 11553955 ↗
  • Smelley MP, Shah DP, Weisberg I, Kim SS, Lin AC, Beshai JF, Burke MC, Knight BP. Initial experience using a radiofrequency powered transseptal needle. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 2010 Apr;21(4):423-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-8167.2009.01656.x. Epub 2009 Nov 17. PubMed 19925604 ↗
  • Sakata Y, Feldman T. Transcatheter creation of atrial septal perforation using a radiofrequency transseptal system: novel approach as an alternative to transseptal needle puncture. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2005 Mar;64(3):327-32. doi: 10.1002/ccd.20284. PubMed 15736263 ↗
  • Crystal MA, Mirza MA, Benson LN. A radiofrequency transseptal needle: initial animal studies. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2010 Nov 1;76(5):769-73. doi: 10.1002/ccd.22600. PubMed 20506170 ↗
  • Hsu JC, Badhwar N, Gerstenfeld EP, Lee RJ, Mandyam MC, Dewland TA, Imburgia KE, Hoffmayer KS, Vedantham V, Lee BK, Tseng ZH, Scheinman MM, Olgin JE, Marcus GM. Randomized trial of conventional transseptal needle versus radiofrequency energy needle puncture for left atrial access (the TRAVERSE-LA study). J Am Heart Assoc. 2013 Sep 17;2(5):e000428. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.113.000428. PubMed 24045120 ↗
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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Feb 28, 2014, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01209260
Lead sponsor
University of California, San Francisco
Collaborators
Baylis Medical Company
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Sep 27, 2010
Start date
Nov 2010
Primary completion
Nov 2012
Completion
Nov 2012
Results posted
Jan 28, 2014
Last update
Feb 28, 2014

Study contacts

Gregory Marcus, MD
principal investigator · University of California, San Francisco
Jonathan Hsu, MD
principal investigator · University of California, San Francisco

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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