CClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT03261973Updated Jun 30, 2021Results posted

Esophageal Deviation in Atrial Fibrillation Ablation

An interventional study of DV8 in Atrial Fibrillation, sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 80 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2021-06-30.

Sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
47
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years to 80 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Catheter ablation with pulmonary vein (PV) isolation is a commonly performed strategy employed for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). However, ablation in the posterior wall of the left atrium can cause thermal injury to the esophagus. Thermal injury is very common and occurs in up to 40% of AF ablations per some studies. When significant thermal injury to the esophagus occurs, two significant complications can arise: 1) the formation of an atrio-esophageal fistula, and 2) gastrointestinal dysmotility. While the occurrence of fistula is rare, it is a very important complication since it is often fatal. Currently luminal esophageal temperature monitoring is the most commonly employed modality to prevent such injury. However, there are limitations to its use, and atrio-esophageal fistulas continue to be a major problem in AF ablation even when using esophageal temperature monitoring. Esophageal deviation using either a Transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) or Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) probe has been described in the literature, but the effectiveness and practicality of these techniques are suboptimal, and have therefore precluded their use in routine clinical practice. Recently, esophageal deviation using off-the-shelf equipment (a soft thoracic tube and endotracheal stylet) was tested in the randomized double-blind multicenter study "Deviating the Esophagus in Atrial Fibrillation Ablation (DEVIATE-AF)". In that study the standard practice (i.e., use of luminal esophageal temperature monitoring) was compared to esophageal deviation using off-the-shelf equipment. The results were very encouraging showing that esophageal deviation allowed for significant reductions in esophageal temperature and proportion of premature ablation terminations. Importantly, esophageal deviation allowed the isolation all PVs in the treatment group, which was not the case in the control group. One major limitation in the DEVIATE-AF trial was that off-the-shelf equipment tool was challenging to use. The aim of the Esophageal Deviation in Atrial Fibrillation Ablation study is to test the feasibility and safety of moving the esophagus using a specialized esophageal deviation tool (DV8, Manual Surgical Sciences, Minneapolis, MN).

02

Conditions studied

  • Atrial Fibrillation

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03

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 80 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • A maximum of up to 54 patients will be enrolled in this prospective single-center single-arm study. Patients undergoing AF ablation (including paroxysmal and persistent AF) will be included in this study. Consistent with the current definitions, paroxysmal AF are episodes that will self-terminate in less than 24 hours. Persistent AF, is defined as ≥1 documented AF lasting >1week in duration or lasting less than 7 days but requiring electrical or pharmacological cardioversion to sinus rhythm.
  • Age >18 - Age \< 80 yr
  • Documentation of atrial fibrillation (AF)
  • General anesthesia
  • All patients must understand and adhere to the requirements of the study and be willing to comply with the post study follow-up requirements.

Exclusion criteria

EXCLUSION CRITERIA

  • Any reversible cause of AF (post-surgery, thyroid disorder, etc.)
  • INR (international normalized ratio) > 4.0 at the time of the procedure
  • History of (H/o) of severe esophageal ulcers, strictures, varices, bleeding, laceration or perforation, esophagitis
  • Severe Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
  • H/o esophageal surgery or any esophageal banding or cautery
  • H/o chest radiation
  • Significant abnormality on Swallowing Impairment Score
  • Mental impairment precluding signing consent or completing follow up
  • Patients with any other significant uncontrolled or unstable medical condition
  • Women who are known to be pregnant or have had a positive β-HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) test within 7 days prior to procedure
  • Presence of left atrial thrombus
04

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Prevention
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
47 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Other
    DV8 esophageal deviation tool

    This is a non-randomized one arm study.

    Device: DV8

Interventions

  • DeviceDV8

    DV8 esophageal deviation tool

05

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Number of Participants With a Minimum Distance of 1 cm Esophageal Deviation Between the Ablation Line for the Ipsilateral Pulmonary Vein (PV) Pairs and the Trailing Edge of the Esophagus.

    Time frame: during Atrial Fibrillation (AF) ablation procedure (intraoperative)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Number of Participants With an Average Distance of 2 cm Esophageal Deviation From the Ablation Line for the Ipsilateral PV Pairs.

    Time frame: during AF ablation procedure

  2. Number of Participants Who Experienced Esophageal Laceration

    Time frame: within 1-90 days of the procedure

  3. Number of Participants With PV Reconnection Assessed by Adenosine Infusion

    Time frame: during AF ablation procedure

  4. Fluoroscopy Time Measured for the Whole Procedure

    Time frame: during AF ablation procedure

  5. Procedure Duration Measured From the Initial Groin Stick to Catheter Removal

    Time frame: during the AF ablation procedure

  6. Ablation Time Assessed by the Total Duration of Radiofrequency Energy Delivery

    Time frame: during the AF ablation procedure

06

Results

Posted Jun 30, 2021

Participant flow

Participant flow — Overall Study
MilestoneDV8 Esophageal Deviation Tool
Started47
Completed43
Not completed4

Outcome measures

PrimaryNumber of Participants With a Minimum Distance of 1 cm Esophageal Deviation Between the Ablation Line for the Ipsilateral Pulmonary Vein (PV) Pairs and the Trailing Edge of the Esophagus.
Time frame:
during Atrial Fibrillation (AF) ablation procedure (intraoperative)
Reported as:
Count of participants · Participants
Number of Participants With a Minimum Distance of 1 cm Esophageal Deviation Between the Ablation Line for the Ipsilateral Pulmonary Vein (PV) Pairs and the Trailing Edge of the Esophagus.
ParticipantsDV8 Esophageal Deviation Tool
Number of Participants With a Minimum Distance of 1 cm Esophageal Deviation Between the Ablation Line for the Ipsilateral Pulmonary Vein (PV) Pairs and the Trailing Edge of the Esophagus.42
SecondaryNumber of Participants With an Average Distance of 2 cm Esophageal Deviation From the Ablation Line for the Ipsilateral PV Pairs.
Time frame:
during AF ablation procedure
Reported as:
Count of participants · Participants
Number of Participants With an Average Distance of 2 cm Esophageal Deviation From the Ablation Line for the Ipsilateral PV Pairs.
ParticipantsDV8 Esophageal Deviation Tool
Number of Participants With an Average Distance of 2 cm Esophageal Deviation From the Ablation Line for the Ipsilateral PV Pairs.9
SecondaryNumber of Participants Who Experienced Esophageal Laceration
Time frame:
within 1-90 days of the procedure
Reported as:
Count of participants · Participants
Number of Participants Who Experienced Esophageal Laceration
ParticipantsDV8 Esophageal Deviation Tool
Number of Participants Who Experienced Esophageal Laceration0
SecondaryNumber of Participants With PV Reconnection Assessed by Adenosine Infusion
Time frame:
during AF ablation procedure
Reported as:
Count of participants · Participants
Number of Participants With PV Reconnection Assessed by Adenosine Infusion
ParticipantsDV8 Esophageal Deviation Tool
Number of Participants With PV Reconnection Assessed by Adenosine Infusion10
SecondaryFluoroscopy Time Measured for the Whole Procedure
Time frame:
during AF ablation procedure
Reported as:
Mean · minutes
Fluoroscopy Time Measured for the Whole Procedure
minutesDV8 Esophageal Deviation Tool
Fluoroscopy Time Measured for the Whole Procedure23.8 ± 8.1
SecondaryProcedure Duration Measured From the Initial Groin Stick to Catheter Removal
Time frame:
during the AF ablation procedure
Reported as:
Mean · minutes
Procedure Duration Measured From the Initial Groin Stick to Catheter Removal
minutesDV8 Esophageal Deviation Tool
Procedure Duration Measured From the Initial Groin Stick to Catheter Removal212 ± 32
SecondaryAblation Time Assessed by the Total Duration of Radiofrequency Energy Delivery
Time frame:
during the AF ablation procedure
Reported as:
Mean · minutes
Ablation Time Assessed by the Total Duration of Radiofrequency Energy Delivery
minutesDV8 Esophageal Deviation Tool
Ablation Time Assessed by the Total Duration of Radiofrequency Energy Delivery53.2 ± 16.2

Adverse events

Collected over The duration of the study was 3 months. Non-serious events are listed at a 0% frequency threshold.

Adverse event summary by group
GroupDeathsSeriousOther
DV8 Esophageal Deviation Tool0/43 (0%)0/43 (0%)2/43 (4.7%)
Most frequent other events
Most frequent other events
EventDV8 Esophageal Deviation Tool
GastroparesisGastrointestinal disorders1/43
PericarditisCardiac disorders1/43

Baseline characteristics

Age, Continuous
Age, Continuous(years)DV8 Esophageal Deviation Tool
Mean61.9 ± 9.1
Sex: Female, Male
Sex: Female, Male(Participants)DV8 Esophageal Deviation Tool
Female12
Male31
Race and Ethnicity Not Collected
Race and Ethnicity Not Collected(Participants)DV8 Esophageal Deviation Tool
07

Study locations

1 site
  • Massachusetts General Hospital
    Boston, Massachusetts 02114, United States
08

References and documents

Study documents

  • Protocol and statistical analysis plan · Jul 18, 2019

Documents are hosted by the registry — open the source record to download them.

09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03261973
Lead sponsor
Massachusetts General Hospital
Responsible party
Moussa C Mansour (Principal Investigator, Massachusetts General Hospital) — Principal investigator
First posted
Aug 25, 2017
Start date
Nov 17, 2017
Primary completion
Jun 15, 2020
Completion
Jun 15, 2020
Results posted
Jun 30, 2021
Last update
Jun 30, 2021

Oversight

FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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