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CompletedNCT04079634EnsoETMUpdated May 16, 2023Results posted

Esophageal Temperature Management During Cryo AF Ablation (EnsoETM)

An interventional study of Esophageal warming and Control in Atrial Fibrillation, sponsored by Northwestern University. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2023-05-16.

Sponsored by Northwestern University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
42
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The purpose of this pilot study is to determine if esophageal warming using the Attune Medical Esophageal Heat Transfer Device (EnsoETM) limits the frequency or severity of thermal injury during cryoballoon ablation of atrial fibrillation.

Read the detailed description

Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) has become a common ablation procedure performed worldwide. The cornerstone of this procedure is pulmonary vein isolation (PVI). PVI can be achieved by multiple methods, the two most common being radiofrequency (RF) and cryoablation. Energy delivery may extend beyond the atrial myocardium and result in damage to adjacent structures, including the esophagus. Atrio-esophageal fistula (AEF) is a rare, but a well-recognized complication of percutaneous AF ablation. The occurrence rate of esophageal injury has varied depending on the reporting center, timing of endoscopy, and the ablation technique utilized. Esophageal ulceration is likely the initial injury that leads to AEF formation and is probably present within hours to days of the ablation procedure.

The Attune Medical Esophageal Heat Transfer Device (EnsoETM) is a non-sterile, multi-lumen silicone tube placed in the esophagus for the purpose of cooling or warming a patient while simultaneously allowing gastric decompression and drainage. For this study, the EnsoETM tube will be used during cardiac ablation procedures for the intended indication of patient temperature management using approved settings/parameters as detailed in the product instructions for use document. EnsoETM is an FDA approved device.

This prospective, randomized study will include 40 patients with symptomatic AF undergoing index PVI under general anesthesia at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Patients will be randomized in a 1:1 fashion with 20 patients (Group A) randomized to undergo the ablation procedure with esophageal warming and the other 20 patients (Group B) will serve as the control group and will not have the EnsoETM device used. All patients will undergo esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) 1-2 days following the ablation procedure to evaluate for esophageal injury.

02

Conditions studied

  • Atrial Fibrillation

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03

In context

Atrial Fibrillation

3,869 studies on the registry are indexed under Atrial Fibrillation; 923 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 42 is below the median of 144 across 2,380 interventional studies indexed under Atrial Fibrillation.

Browse Atrial Fibrillation studies →

Lead sponsor

Northwestern University is the lead sponsor of 1,396 studies on the registry; 199 are open to participants now.

Of its 102 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 73 (72%) have results posted.

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

04

Who can participate

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

Inclusion criteria

  1. Patients above the age of 18 years old.
  2. Patients with the diagnosis of atrial fibrillation undergoing clinically indicated de-novo AF ablation procedure.
  3. Patients must be willing to provide informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Patients with contraindication to EGD.
  2. History of prior AF ablation procedures.
  3. Significant co-morbidities that preclude standard ablation procedure.
  4. Patient is ineligible for EnsoETM placement due to:

    • Known esophageal deformity or evidence of esophageal trauma (for example history of esophagectomy, previous swallowing disorders, achalasia).
    • Known ingestion of acidic or caustic poisons within the prior 24 hours.
    • Patients with \<40 kg of body mass.
05

Study design

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

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Treatment

    Placement of study device (EnsoETM) for temperature management

    Device: Esophageal warming

  • Active comparator
    Control

    Placement of standard temperature probe

    Device: Control

Interventions

  • DeviceEsophageal warming

    Use of EnsoETM for esophageal warming to limit injury during atrial fibrillation ablation procedure

  • DeviceControl

    Standard temperature probe monitoring

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Number of Participants With Esophageal Thermal Injury

    Endoscopic evidence of thermal injury

    Time frame: Post-Procedure Day 1

07

Results

Posted May 16, 2023

Participant flow

Participant flow — Overall Study
MilestoneTreatmentControl
Started2319
Completed2319
Not completed00

Outcome measures

PrimaryNumber of Participants With Esophageal Thermal Injury

Endoscopic evidence of thermal injury

Time frame:
Post-Procedure Day 1
Reported as:
Number · participants
Number of Participants With Esophageal Thermal Injury
participantsTreatmentControl
Number of Participants With Esophageal Thermal Injury81
Statistical analysis
  • Treatment vs Control · t-test, 2 sided · p = 0.02

Adverse events

Collected over 3 months. Non-serious events are listed at a 0% frequency threshold.

Adverse event summary by group
GroupDeathsSeriousOther
Treatment0/23 (0%)0/23 (0%)0/23 (0%)
Control0/19 (0%)0/19 (0%)0/19 (0%)

Baseline characteristics

Age, Categorical
Age, Categorical(Participants)TreatmentControlTotal
<=18 years000
Between 18 and 65 years12719
>=65 years111223
Age, Continuous
Age, Continuous(years)TreatmentControlTotal
Mean64.7 ± 11.066.6 ± 8.465.6 ± 9.8
Sex: Female, Male
Sex: Female, Male(Participants)TreatmentControlTotal
Female9312
Male141630
Race and Ethnicity Not Collected
Race and Ethnicity Not Collected(Participants)TreatmentControlTotal
Count of participants——0
Region of Enrollment
Region of Enrollment(participants)TreatmentControlTotal
United States231942
Hypertension (HTN)
Hypertension (HTN)(participants)TreatmentControlTotal
Number121325
Diabetes
Diabetes(participants)TreatmentControlTotal
Number213
Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)
Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)(participants)TreatmentControlTotal
Number213

3 further baseline measures are reported on the registry.

08

Study locations

1 site
  • Northwestern University
    Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States
09

References and documents

Study documents

  • Protocol and statistical analysis plan · Jun 24, 2020
  • Informed consent form · Jun 25, 2020

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

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes

Supporting information: Icf

10

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 16, 2023, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
11

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04079634
Lead sponsor
Northwestern University
Collaborators
Attune Medical
Responsible party
Nishant Verma (Assistant Professor of Medicine, Northwestern University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Sep 6, 2019
Start date
Oct 8, 2019
Primary completion
Sep 30, 2021
Completion
Dec 31, 2022
Results posted
May 16, 2023
Last update
May 16, 2023

Study contacts

Nishant Verma, MD
principal investigator · Northwestern University

Oversight

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

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Apr 2023. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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