Esophageal pressure monitoring for airway management during catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation

• Published in: International journal of cardiology. Heart & vasculature 2021-04, Vol.33, p.100771-100771, Article 100771
• Main Authors: Iwasaki, Yu-ki, Fujimoto, Yuhi, Oka, Eiichiro, Ito Hagiwara, Kanako, Takahashi, Kenta, Tsuboi, Ippei, Hayashi, Hiroshi, Yodogawa, Kenji, Hayashi, Meiso, Miyauchi, Yasushi, Shimizu, Wataru
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Airway management; Atrial fibrillation; Catheter ablation; Esophageal pressure; Original Paper
• ISSN: 2352-9067; 2352-9067
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijcha.2021.100771

Respiratory management during catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) is important for the efficacy and safety of the procedure. Obstructive apnea due to an upper airway obstruction might cause serious complications including air embolisms and cardiac tamponade. However, real time monitoring of upper airway obstructions during catheter ablation has not been established. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate esophageal pressure monitoring for respiratory management during catheter ablation of AF. Twenty-four consecutive patients (20 men and 4 women; mean age, 61 ± 13 years) with AF who underwent esophageal pressure monitoring during catheter ablation of AF were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into 2 groups. One was the obstructive apnea (OA) group (n = 17), which required airway management tools including nasal airways and/or non-invasive positive airway pressure (NPPV) and the other was the control group (n = 7), which did not require airway management. Esophageal pressure measurements were obtained in all patients, and the OA group exhibited a substantial negative esophageal pressure as compared to the control group (−41.48 ± 19.58 vs. −12.42 ± 5.77 mmHg, p