Predictive value of obstructive sleep apnoea assessed by the Berlin Questionnaire for outcomes after the catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation.
OBJECTIVE
Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence after catheter ablation. The purpose of this study is to determine whether OSA assessed by the simple tool, the Berlin Questionnaire (BQ), is useful in predicting the efficacy of catheter ablation of AF.


RESULTS
The patient population consisted of 210 consecutive patients [mean age 58 +/- 10 years, 167 (80%) male, 119 (57%) paroxysmal] who underwent catheter ablation of AF and completed the BQ. Clinical success was defined as at least 90% reduction in AF burden after 3-month blanking period. Mean duration of follow-up was 25 +/- 12 months. One hundred and one of the 118 (85%) patients at low risk for OSA had clinical success as opposed to 64 of the 92 (70%) patients at high risk for OSA on BQ (P = 0.005). On multivariate analysis, only high-risk for OSA on BQ emerged as an independent predictor of procedural failure (OR 4.53, CI: 1.21-16.87, P = 0.02).


CONCLUSIONS
High risk of OSA on BQ predicts procedural failure after catheter ablation of AF. We recommend the use of BQ for risk-stratifying patients for OSA prior to AF ablation procedures and to identify patients for formal sleep study assessment.
Chilukuri
Karuna
K
Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Dalal
Darshan
D
Marine
Joseph E
JE
Scherr
Daniel
D
Henrikson
Charles A
CA
Cheng
Alan
A
Nazarian
Saman
S
Spragg
David
D
Berger
Ronald
R
Calkins
Hugh
H
D000328:Adult; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome