Catheter navigation by intracardiac echocardiography enables zero-fluoroscopy linear lesion formation and bidirectional cavotricuspid isthmus block in patients with typical atrial flutter.

Introduction: One of the most helpful aspects of intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) implementation in electrophysiological studies (EPS) is the real-time visualisation of catheters and cardiac structures. In this prospective study, we investigated ICE-guided zero-fluoroscopy catheter navigation during radiofrequency (RF) ablation of the cavotricuspid isthmus (CTI) in patients with typical atrial flutter (AFL).

Methods And Results: Thirty consecutive patients (mean age 72.

A silent trio: Giant descending aortic aneurysm combined with coarctation and persistent left brachiocephalic truncus.

We report a case of an undiagnosed descending aortic aneurysm, combined with coarctation and persistent left brachiocephalic truncus in a 59-year-old male. It highlights the necessity for aortic imaging, when facing a poorly controlled hypertension.

Rapidly progressive case of type I Madelung disease with bilateral parotid and minor salivary glands involvement.

Madelung disease has been literally classified as a rare disease, more common in Mediterranean population. It is characterized by the presence of multiple symmetrical, non-capsulated storages of adipose tissue. We present a 56 year old woman with a sudden unexplained progression of swelling in the neck and upper thorax region associated with severe dyspnea.

Zero-fluoroscopy cryothermal ablation of atrioventricular nodal re-entry tachycardia guided by endovascular and endocardial catheter visualization using intracardiac echocardiography (Ice&ICE Trial).

Introduction: Stochastic damage of the ionizing radiation to both patients and medical staff is a drawback of fluoroscopic guidance during catheter ablation of cardiac arrhythmias. Therefore, emerging zero-fluoroscopy catheter-guidance techniques are of great interest.

Methods And Results: We investigated, in a prospective pilot study, the feasibility and safety of the cryothermal (CA) slow-pathway ablation in patients with symptomatic atrioventricular-nodal-re-entry-tachycardia (AVNRT) using solely intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) for endovascular and endocardial catheter visualization.

Spatial and temporal dynamics of hepatitis B virus D genotype in Europe and the Mediterranean Basin.

Hepatitis B virus genotype D can be found in many parts of the world and is the most prevalent strain in south-eastern Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East, and the Indian sub-continent. The epidemiological history of the D genotype and its subgenotypes is still obscure because of the scarcity of appropriate studies. We retrieved from public databases a total of 312 gene P sequences of HBV genotype D isolated in various countries throughout the world, and reconstructed the spatio-temporal evolutionary dynamics of the HBV-D epidemic using a bayesian framework.