Indian pacing and electrophysiology journal
-
Indian Pacing Electrophysiol J · May 2018
Retrospective review of 65 atrioesophageal fistulas post atrial fibrillation ablation.
Although a rare complication of catheter based ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF), atrioesophageal fistula (AEF) is a serious and fatal event [1-5]. Most reports of AEF are single cases or small case series. ⋯ Atrioesophageal fistula is an uncommon but potentially fatal complication of atrial fibrillation ablation. Patients who underwent surgical repair were twelve times more likely to survive than those treated with stenting, antibiotic therapy or no intervention. Based on the observation that patients are 12 times more likely to survive an AEF with surgery than without, the authors believe that prompt surgical correction of AEF should be considered as standard of care when dealing with this dreaded complication.