title: Atrial fibrillation ablation: a single center comparison between remote magnetic navigation, cryoballoon and conventional manual pulmonary vein isolation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of the study was to compare in our center the effect of different ablation techniques on intermediate term freedom from atrial fibrillation (AF) or atrial tachycardia (AT) in patients affected by refractory AF.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We retrospectively selected 94 patients who underwent AF ablation in our electrophysiological laboratory from June 2007 to December 2009. 29 patients underwent manual circumferential pulmonary vein isolation (mCPVI), 35 underwent remote magnetic navigation assisted CPVI (rmtCPVI) and 30 cryoballoon CPVI (cCPVI). Antiarrhythmic drugs were systematically stopped 2 months after the procedure (end of the "blanking period"). At a mean follow-up of 12,64 ± 6,41 months (range 2-31), the success rate for mCPVI group was 65.5% (19 patients), 66.7 % (20 patients) for the rmtCPVI group and 65.7 % (23 patients) for the cCPVI group (p = 0.625). Procedural and fluoroscopy times were significantly reduced in the cCPVI group (both p < 0.001). Univariate Cox regression showed that no clinical variables were independently associated with recurrence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In our center's experience cCPVI and rmtCPVI have been demonstrated to be as effective as mCPVI. cCPVI seemed to be associated with lower procedural and fluoroscopy times.
authors.affiliation: Heart Rhythm Management Centre, UZ Brussel-VUB, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sorgente
authors.forename: Gian Battista
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Chierchia
authors.forename: Lucio
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Capulzini
authors.forename: Yoshinao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yazaki
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Muller-Burri
authors.forename: Fatih
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bayrak
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sarkozy
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: de Asmundis
authors.forename: Gaetano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Paparella
authors.forename: Brugada
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Brugada