Publications by authors named "Luca Rebellato"
Article Synopsis
- - The timing of re-implantation for removed cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) due to local infections or endocarditis lacks consensus, as there are no randomized studies available.
- - This case report discusses a patient with E. faecalis CIED endocarditis successfully treated with a combination of ampicillin and ceftobiprole, allowing for simultaneous removal and re-implantation of the device.
- - The authors suggest that this antibiotic combination may have both bactericidal and anti-biofilm effects, potentially enabling safe one-stage re-implantation without infection relapse.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the effectiveness and tolerability of oral procainamide versus mexiletine for treating recurrent ventricular arrhythmias in patients who didn't respond to standard therapies like amiodarone and beta-blockers.
- Out of 68 patients treated, approximately 56% experienced a significant reduction in arrhythmia burden, with procainamide showing nearly three times higher efficacy compared to mexiletine.
- Side effects were noted in both treatments, but procainamide had a lower discontinuation rate due to severe side effects, suggesting it may be a preferable option for this patient group.
Background: The ablation of arrhythmias arising near the His-bundle region in the non-coronary aortic cusp (NCAC) is challenging. Among the aortic sinuses of Valsalva, the NCAC is located between the right atrium and the left atrium. For this reason, pacing from the NCAC should result in atrial capture while pacing from the right and left coronary cusps (LCC) may result in ventricular capture.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDoes Timing of Ventricular Tachycardia Ablation Affect Prognosis in Patients With an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator? Results From the Multicenter Randomized PARTITA Trial.
Circulation
June 2022
Background: Optimal timing for catheter ablation of ventricular tachycardia is an important unresolved issue. There are no randomized trials evaluating the benefit of ablation after the first implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) shock.
Methods: We conducted a 2-phase, prospective, multicenter, randomized clinical trial.
Article Synopsis
- The study examines the effectiveness and safety of oral procainamide for treating recurrent ventricular arrhythmias in patients who did not respond to standard therapies like amiodarone or beta-blockers.! -
- A total of 34 patients participated, with results showing that procainamide significantly reduced both the number of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) interventions and the frequency of ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation episodes over a treatment period of around 13 months.! -
- Despite some patients experiencing severe side effects that required therapy discontinuation, the overall tolerability of procainamide was deemed acceptable, indicating it as a viable option for these patients.
Background: The pacemaker (PM) and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) Registry of the Italian Association of Arrhythmology and Cardiac Pacing (AIAC) monitors the main epidemiological data in real-world practice. The survey for the 2019 activity collects information about demographics, clinical characteristics, main indications for PM/ICD therapy and device types from the Italian collaborating centers.
Methods: The Registry collects prospectively national PM and ICD implantation activity on the basis of European cards.
Aims: Ablation index (AI) is a marker of lesion quality during catheter ablation that incorporates contact force, time, and power in a weighted formula. This index was originally developed for pulmonary vein isolation as well as other left atrial procedures. The aim of our study is to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of the AI for the ablation of the cavotricuspid isthmus (CTI) in patients presenting with typical atrial flutter (AFL).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMinimally invasive surgical ablation is generally contraindicated in patients with atrial fibrillation and thrombosis of the left atrial appendage. We have treated three of these patients using an innovative technique based on a bilateral video-thoracoscopic approach, performing a continuous encircling lesion at the pulmonary veins outflow with radio-frequency ablation, simultaneously excluding the left atrial appendage. The postoperative course was uneventful, without neurologic events and all patients maintained a stable sinus rhythm at 1-year follow-up.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Which technique is better for repeat ablation in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) remains unclear. The aim of the study was to compare long-term efficacy of repeat ablation using the alternative technique for the first redo ablation procedure: (a) cryoballoon (CB) re-ablation after a failed index pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) with radiofrequency (RF) ablation, RF-then-CB group or (b) RF repeat ablation following a failed CB ablation, CB-then-RF group.
Methods: Within the 1STOP Italian Project, consecutive patients undergoing repeat ablation with a different technique from the index procedure were included.
Background: The pacemaker (PM) and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) Registry of the Italian Association of Arrhythmology and Cardiac Pacing (AIAC) monitors the main epidemiological data in real-world practice. The survey for the 2018 activity collects information about demographics, clinical characteristics, main indications for PM/ICD therapy and device types from the Italian collaborating centers.
Methods: The Registry collects prospectively national PM and ICD implantation activity on the basis of European cards.
Introduction: Four generations of the cryoballoon (CB) catheter were retrospectively evaluated in a real-world examination of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).
Methods And Results: Four hundred eighty patients (27% female and 60 ± 10 years) suffering from AF, underwent pulmonary vein (PV) ablation with one-of-four generations of the CB catheter. The total cohort was divided into four groups of patients: 120 with first-generation (CB-1); 120 with second-generation (CB-2); 120 with third-generation (CB-3); and 120 with fourth-generation (CB-4).
Background: The pacemaker (PM) and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) Registry of the Italian Association of Arrhythmology and Cardiac Pacing (AIAC) monitors the main epidemiological data in real-world practice. The survey for the 2017 activity collects information about demographics, clinical characteristics, main indications for PM/ICD therapy and device types from the Italian collaborating centers.
Methods: The Registry collects prospectively national PM and ICD implantation activity on the basis of European cards.
Background: Non-sustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT) can occur asymptomatically and can be incidentally detected in the internal records of pacemakers (PM). The clinical value of NSVT in the population of PM patients is still uncertain.Our aim was to assess the prevalence of NSVT detected by remote PM control, to describe the clinical and demographic characteristics of patients with NSVT, and to assess the prognostic significance of NSVT in terms of both overall and cardiovascular mortality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The pacemaker (PM) and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) registry of the Italian Association of Arrhythmology and Cardiac Pacing (AIAC) monitors the main epidemiological data in real-world practice. The survey for the 2016 activity collects information about demographics, clinical characteristics, main indications for PM/ICD therapy and device types from the Italian collaborating centers.
Methods: The registry collects prospectively national PM and ICD implantation activity on the basis of European cards.
Background: Our aim was to evaluate the clinical outcome of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation with contact force technology, using an automated lesion tagging system (VISITAG module) with strict criteria of catheter stability.
Methods and results: We enrolled 200 consecutive patients who underwent pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) in 11 centers and were followed up for 12 months. The stability setting was within 3 mm for ≥10 s and for ≥15 s in 47% and 53% of patients, respectively.
Pharmacologic challenge with sodium channel blockers is part of the diagnostic workout in patients with suspected Brugada syndrome. The test is overall considered safe but both ajmaline and flecainide detain well known pro-arrhythmic properties. Moreover, the treatment of patients with life-threatening arrhythmias during these diagnostic procedures is not well defined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The pacemaker (PM) and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) Registry of the Italian Association of Arrhythmology and Cardiac Pacing (AIAC) monitors the main epidemiological data in real-world practice. The survey for the 2015 activity collects information about demographics, clinical characteristics, main indications for PM/ICD therapy and device types from the Italian collaborating centers.
Methods: The Registry collects prospectively national PM and ICD implantation activity on the basis of European cards.
Background: Recent studies have suggested that para-Hisian atrial tachycardia (AT) can be successfully ablated from the right atrium (RA), left atrium (LA), or noncoronary cusp (NCC) in the aorta; however, the best approach remains unclear.
Objective: This study aimed to compare different approaches to radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) of para-Hisian AT.
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 68 consecutive patients (49[72%] women; mean age 61 ± 13 years) treated with RFCA for this type of AT.
Article Synopsis
- Noncoronary aortic cusp (NCAC) is a complex area for treating focal atrial tachycardias (ATs), especially near the His-bundle, and this study updates findings on catheter ablation techniques for these cases.
- The study involved 23 patients (predominantly women, average age of 65) with severe symptoms, where mapping guided the ablation directly from NCAC, utilizing a specific catheter for the procedure.
- Results showed a 95% success rate in eliminating arrhythmias without complications over an average follow-up period of about 41 months, confirming the procedure's safety and effectiveness.
Background: The pacemaker (PM) and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) Registry of the Italian Association of Arrhythmology and Cardiac Pacing (AIAC) monitors the main epidemiological data in real-world practice. The survey for the 2014 activity collects information about demographics, clinical characteristics, main indications for PM/ICD therapy and device types from the Italian collaborating centers.
Methods: The Registry collects prospectively national PM and ICD implantation activity on the basis of European cards.
Background: The pacemaker (PM) and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) Registry of the Italian Association of Arrhythmology and Cardiac Pacing (AIAC) monitors the main epidemiological data in real-world practice. The survey for the 2013 activity collects information about demographics, clinical characteristics, main indications for PM/ICD therapy and device types from the Italian collaborating centers.
Methods: The Registry collects prospectively national PM and ICD implantation activity on the basis of European cards.
Aims: Despite catheter ablation (CA) has become an accepted treatment option for symptomatic, drug-resistant atrial fibrillation (AF), the safety of this procedure continues to be cause for concern. The aim of the present study was to assess the incidence of complications with permanent sequelae of CA for AF using open-irrigated catheters in a contemporary, unselected population of consecutive patients.
Methods And Results: From 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2011, data from 2167 consecutive patients who underwent CA for AF using an open-irrigated catheter in 29 Italian centres were collected.
Background: Routine diagnostic work-up occasionally does not identify any abnormality among patients with monomorphic ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) of left ventricular (LV) origin. Aim of this study was to investigate the value of cardiac MRI (cMRI) for the diagnostic work-up and prognostication of these patients.
Methods And Results: Forty-six consecutive patients (65% males; mean age, 44±15 years) with monomorphic VAs of LV origin and negative routine diagnostic work-up were included.