Scholten M F, Kimman G J, Janse P A, Thornton A S, Theuns D A M J, Jordaens L J
Neth Heart J. 2003 Sep;11(9):341-346.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most frequently encountered arrhythmia. Radiofrequency pulmonary vein (PV) ablation is promising for symptomatic paroxysmal AF, but is associated with a significant risk of PV stenosis.
To assess the efficacy of cryothermal PV ablation and the incidence of PV stenosis.
Highly symptomatic patients with paroxysmal or persistent AF were eligible for cryothermal ablation. Multislice spiral CT scans were performed before, and three months after ablation. AF burden was assessed using transtelephonic ECG recording and by telephonic enquiry.
An attempt was made to isolate 27 PVs in 15 patients. In total, 20 PVs could be isolated (74% acute success). No significant difference in PV diameter was seen before and after ablation. Five out of 12 patients with paroxysmal AF were completely without AF after one ablation procedure. An additional two patients reported a significant reduction in symptoms. In the three patients with persistent AF no improvement was reported.
Cryothermal PV ablation was effective in isolation of the targeted PVs. It appears to be safe, as no PV stenosis was seen in this study three months after the ablation. Taking into account a learning curve, we consider the clinical results to be very promising.
心房颤动（AF）是最常见的心律失常。射频肺静脉（PV）消融术对于有症状的阵发性AF有前景，但与PV狭窄的显著风险相关。
评估冷冻球囊PV消融术的疗效及PV狭窄的发生率。
有高度症状的阵发性或持续性AF患者 eligible for冷冻球囊消融术。在消融术前及术后三个月进行多层螺旋CT扫描。使用电话心电图记录及电话询问评估AF负荷。
对15例患者的27条PV进行了隔离尝试。总共20条PV可被隔离（急性成功率74%）。消融前后PV直径未见显著差异。12例阵发性AF患者中有5例在一次消融术后完全无AF。另外2例患者报告症状显著减轻。3例持续性AF患者未见改善。
冷冻球囊PV消融术在隔离目标PV方面有效。本研究中消融术后三个月未见PV狭窄，似乎是安全的。考虑到学习曲线，我们认为临床结果很有前景。 （注：“eligible for”这里翻译为“符合……条件”，但原文意思不太明确，可能表述有误。）
