Very high-power short duration radiofrequency ablation to achieve pulmonary vein isolation: the AIR HPSD registry
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: The QDOT Micro catheter allows to perform a very high-power short-duration ablation that produces wider and shallower lesions. This study aims to corroborate the evidences on the safety, acute and long-term efficacy of this catheter by providing a large real-world dataset. METHODS: The AIR HPSD Registry is a multicentric prospective registry across 26 European centers that enrolled consecutive atrial fibrillation (AF) patients undergoing their first pulmonary vein (PV) isolation. In all patients a wide antrum circumferential ablation aimed at PV isolation was performed using the QDOT Micro catheter in QMode+ (90 w for 4 s) for the whole ablation or in a hybrid mode (QMode + for the posterior wall and QMode guided by ablation index for the anterior wall), according to the operators’ preference. RESULTS: Overall, 982 patients have been enrolled, 38% of patients were ablated with the QMode + solely and 62% with a hybrid modality. The fluoroscopy time was higher in the hybrid group (396 ± 493 s vs. 138 ± 238 s, p < 0.001) and similarly the procedural time (112 ± 41 min vs. 96 ± 36 min, p = 0.01). The complications (1.8%) were similar between groups (1.1% in Qmode+ group vs. 2.3% in hybrid group, p = 0.3). The freedom from AF/AT recurrence was similar between groups (88% hybrid group vs. 90% Qmode+ group, p = ns) and higher in paroxysmal than in persistent patients (90% vs. 81%, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The QDOT Micro catheter demonstrated high efficiency, safety, and effectiveness in achieving PV isolation in patients undergoing their first ablation for paroxysmal or persistent AF.
Authors: Teresa Strisciuglio, Roberto Mantovan, Francesco Solimene, Sara Poggi, Antoine Lepillier, Andrea Giomi, Marco Scaglione, Massimo Grimaldi, Marzia Giaccardi, Luca Rossi, Saverio Iacopino, Piotr Kulakowski, Tomasz Krynski, Matteo Anselmino, Antonio Dello Russo, Paolo Compagnucci, Claire A. Martin, Kiran Kang, Adrian Gwizdala, Marcello Anders Piacenti, Maria Luisa Loricchio, Graziana Viola, Giulio Zucchelli, Kaspars Kupics, Luca Rebellato, Procolo Marchese, Claudio Pandozi, Alexandre Bodin, Giacomo Mugnai, Gemma Palergonio, Maria Lucia Narducci, Marco Gallucci, Vincenzo Schillaci, Sarah Zeriouh, Ieva Ansaberga, Kristine Jubele, Giuseppe Stabile
Institutions: University of Naples Federico II, AULSS 2 Marca Trevigiana, Clinica Luganese Moncucco, Clinica Mediterranea, Centre Cardiologique du Nord, Santa Maria Nuova Hospital, Azienda Sanitaria Locale di Asti, Ospedale Generale Regionale Francesco Miulli, Ospedale Santa Maria Annunziata, Guglielmo da Saliceto Hospital, Maria Cecilia Hospital, Medical University of Warsaw, Azienda Ospedaliera Citta' della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, Royal Papworth Hospital, University of Cambridge, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Fondazione Toscana Gabriele Monasterio, Ospedale Sandro Pertini, Santissima Trinità, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Pisana, Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital, Ospedale Santa Maria della Misericordia di Udine, Azienda sanitaria universitaria Friuli Centrale, Ospedale San Filippo Neri, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Tours, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata Verona, Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic
Language: English
Subfield: Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,890
OpenAlex ID: W7143793563