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Management of ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) beyond implantable cardioverter-defibrillator positioning in patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is challenging. Catheter ablation of the ventricular substrate often requires a combination of endocardial and epicardial approaches, with disappointing outcomes due to the progressive nature of the disease. We report the Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel experience through a case series of 16 patients with drug-refractory ARVC, who have undergone endocardial and/or epicardial catheter ablation of VAs with a thoracoscopic hybrid-approach. After a mean follow-up time of 5.16 years (SD 2.9 years) from the first hybrid-approach ablation, VA recurrence was observed in 5 patients (31.25%): among these, patients 4 patients (80%) received a previous ablation and 1 of 11 patients (9.09%) who had a hybrid ablation as first approach had a VA recurrence (80% vs 9.09%; log-rank p = 0.04). Despite the recurrence rate of arrhythmic events, all patients had a significant reduction in the arrhythmic burden after ablation, with a mean of 4.65 years (SD 2.9 years) of freedom from clinically significant arrhythmias, defined as symptomatic VAs or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator-delivered therapies. In conclusion, our case series confirms that management of VAs in patients with ARVC is difficult because patients do not always respond to antiarrhythmic medications and can require multiple invasive procedures. A multidisciplinary approach involving cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, and cardiac electrophysiologists, together with recent cardiac mapping techniques and ablation tools, might mitigate these difficulties and improve outcomes., Competing Interests: Disclosures Dr. de Asmundis receives research grants on behalf of the center from Biotronik, Medtronic, Abbott, LivaNova, Boston Scientific, AtriCure, Philips, and Acutus and has received compensation for teaching purposes and proctoring from Medtronic, Abbott, Biotronik, Livanova, Boston Scientific, AtriCure, and Daiichi Sankyo. Dr. Chierchia has received compensation for teaching purposes and proctoring from AF Solutions, Medtronic,Abbott, and Biotronik. Dr. La Meir is a consultant for AtriCure. Dr. Bisignani is consultant for Biotronik. Dr. Miraglia has received an educational grant from the "Foundation Enrico and Enrica Sovena". Dr. Brugada has received compensation for teaching purposes from Medtronic and Biotronik., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Some previous studies have proposed the electrocardiographic Tpeak-Tend (TpTe) as a possible predictor of ventricular arrhythmic events in patients with Brugada syndrome (BrS). We sought to analyze the association between the parameters of repolarization dispersion (TpTe, TpTe/QT, TpTe dispersion, QTc, and QTd) and ventricular fibrillation/sudden cardiac death in a large cohort of patients with type 1 BrS. A total of 448 consecutive patients with BrS (men 61%, age 45 ± 16 years) with spontaneous (n = 96, 21%) or drug-induced (n = 352, 79%) type 1 electrocardiogram were retrospectively included. At the time of the diagnosis or during a mean follow-up of 93 ± 47 months (median 88 months), 43 patients (9%) documented ventricular arrhythmias. No significant difference was observed in TpTe, TpTe/QT, maximum TpTe, and TpTe dispersion between asymptomatic patients and those with syncope and malignant arrhythmias. TpTe/QT ratio did not also significantly differ between patients with ventricular fibrillation/sudden cardiac death and those asymptomatic ones. In conclusion, TpTe was not significantly prolonged in those patients with type 1 BrS presenting with unexplained syncope or malignant arrhythmic events during follow-up., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Data evaluating the impact of the periprocedural administration of novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) on complications in the setting of pulmonary vein (PV) isolation using cryoballoon (CB) is limited. In the present study, our aim was to analyze procedural characteristics and incidence of complications in those patients who underwent CB ablation for atrial fibrillation and the impact of NOACs on adverse events compared with vitamin K antagonists (VKAs). Consecutive patients with drug resistant atrial fibrillation who underwent PV isolation by CB as index procedure were retrospectively included in our analysis. In group I, 290 of 454 patients (63.9%) received VKAs (warfarin: n = 222 and acenocoumarol: n = 68), and in group II, 164 of 454 patients (36.1%) were treated with NOACs (rivaroxaban: n = 71; dabigatran: n = 60; and apixaban: n = 33). Age was significantly higher in the group II (62.8 ± 9.7 vs 58.6 ± 11.3; p <0.001). During the study period, 454 consecutive patients (male 71%, age 60.1 ± 10.9 years) were enrolled. Major complications occurred in 9 patients (2.0%): peripheral vascular complications were observed in 6 patients (1.3% per procedure), persistent phrenic nerve palsy occurred in 2 (0.4%), and transient ischemic attacks in 1 (0.2%). In both groups, the incidence of major complications was similar (group I [VKAs]: 7 patients [2.4%] vs group II [NOACs]: 2 patients [1.2%]; p = 0.5). In conclusion, CB ablation is a safe procedure for PV isolation and is associated with low complication rates. The incidence of adverse events in PV isolation using the second-generation CB with the periprocedural administration of NOACs is not significantly different than VKA treatment., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)