Arrhythmias & electrophysiologyCohort study
Severe acute kidney injury related to haemolysis after pulsed field ablation for atrial fibrillation
- Prospective cohort study
- consecutive patients
Authors' conclusion
Intravascular haemolysis can occur after certain procedures of PFA. Acute kidney injury is a phenomenon that appears to be very rare after a PFA procedure.
Study context
- Population
- Consecutive patients undergoing atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation with pulsed field ablation (PFA) (pentaspline catheter), from June 2023
- Participants
- 68 patients
- Exposure
- Haemolysis+ vs haemolysis- after PFA
- Haemolysis+n = 19
- Outcome
- Haemolysis indicators
- Follow-up
- Day after the procedure
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Haemolysis (depleted haptoglobin <0.04 g/L) the day after PFA
Patients with significantly depleted haptoglobin levels (<0.04 g/L)
19 (28%)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | Haemolysis+ | Haemolysis- | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total number of PFA applications | 75 (IQR 62–127) | 62 (IQR 54–71) | P = 0.011 |
Total number of PFA applications
- >70 applications seem to have better sensitivity and specificity to predict haemolysis
Safety
Acute kidney injury (AKI) secondary to acute severe haemolysis after PFA (case reports preceding the cohort)
- Cases of AKI, May and June 2023
- 2
Original publication
Severe acute kidney injury related to haemolysis after pulsed field ablation for atrial fibrillation. Europace. Published 4 January 2024. doi:10.1093/europace/euad371
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it