AUTHOR=Xie Hai-yang , Guo Xiao-gang , Yang Jian-du , Li Jia-hui , Chen Yan-qiao , Cao Zhong-jing , Sun Qi , Li Xiao-yao , Ma Jian 

TITLE=Safety and Efficacy Using the Second-Generation Cryoballoon in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and a Common Ostium of Inferior Pulmonary Veins

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine

VOLUME=Volume 8 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2021.683315

DOI=10.3389/fcvm.2021.683315

ISSN=2297-055X

ABSTRACT=Background: Common ostium of the inferior pulmonary veins (COIPV) is a kind of pulmonary vein variation. The safety and efficacy of COIPV isolation using the second‐generation cryoballoon (CB) ablation remain unknown.
Methods: A total of 10 patients with COIPV from a consecutive series of 1751 patients with AF were included. Pulmonary vein isolation（PVI) was performed using the second‐generation CB.
Results: The prevalence of a COIPV was 0.57% in the present study. PVI was achieved in all pulmonary veins (PVs) without the need for a touch-up. A segmental freeze strategy was applied for each inferior PV respectively. The mean number of freeze cycles of inferior PVs was 1.4±0.5 for the left inferior pulmonary vein (LIPV), and 2.0±0.9 for the right inferior pulmonary vein (RIPV). Pulmonary vein potential (PVP) of RIPV could not be real-time monitored in 3 cases. Eight of 10 patients (80%) were free from atrial arrhythmia without the use of antiarrhythmic drugs during a follow-up period of 23.6 ±12.9 months. No procedure-related complications occurred in any of the 10 patients.
Conclusions: COIPV is a rare but challenging pulmonary vein variant. PVI with this unusual anatomic variation using the second‐generation 28‐mm CB is effective and safe.