Development of a minimum data set for cardiac electrophysiology study ablation.

Background: At present, there is no established national minimum data set (MDS) for electrophysiology study (EPS) ablation, which has led to a lack of standardization and variable assessment criteria in this context.

Objective: The objective of this paper was to develop a MDS of EPS ablation as means of establishing an information management system or clinical registry in this field.

Methods: In this cross-sectional and descriptive study, national and international cardiovascular scientific literature were studied to establish an initial set of data elements. In order to its validity, the population study composed of 15 cardiac electrophysiologists who asked to review the proposed data elements and score them in order of importance using a five-point Likert scale. The items scored as important or highly important by at least 60% of the experts (average score of 3 and higher) were included in the final list of MDS.

Results: An MDS of cardiac EPS ablation was created with nine data classes, including administrative data, past medical history, sign and symptoms, physical examinations, laboratory tests, presenting status of heart conduction system, catheter ablation, postprocedure complications, and discharge outcomes. For each category, required variables data and possible respondents were determined.

Conclusions: Consensus was reached on a set of core data elements to standardize data collection for cardiac EPS ablation in order to achieve quality improvement and effectiveness indicators for the management of care process and health outcomes.