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Background Esophageal thermal injury (ETI) is a byproduct of atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation using thermal sources. The most severe form of ETI is represented by atrioesophageal fistula, which has a high mortality rate. Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows identification of ETI. Hence, we sought to evaluate the utility of LGE-MRI as a method to identify ETI across the entire spectrum of severity. Methods and Results All AF radiofrequency ablations performed at the University of Utah between January 2009 and December 2017 were reviewed. Patients with LGE-MRI within 24 hours following AF ablation as well as patients who had esophagogastroduodenoscopy in addition to LGE-MRI were identified. An additional patient with atrioesophageal fistula who had AF ablation at a different institution and had MRI and esophagogastroduodenoscopy at the University of Utah was identified. A total of 1269 AF radiofrequency ablations were identified. ETI severity was classified on the basis of esophageal LGE pattern (none, 60.9%; mild, 27.5%; moderate, 9.9%; severe, 1.7%). ETI resolved in most patients who underwent repeat LGE-MRI at 3 months. All patients with esophagogastroduodenoscopy-confirmed ETI had moderate-to-severe LGE 24 hours after ablation MRI. Moderate-to-severe LGE had 100% sensitivity and 58.1% specificity in detecting ETI, and a negative predictive value of 100%. Atrioesophageal fistula was visualized by both computed tomography and LGE-MRI in one patient. Conclusions LGE-MRI is useful in detecting and characterizing ETI across the entire severity spectrum. LGE-MRI exhibits an extremely high sensitivity and negative predictive value in screening for ETI after AF ablation.

Aims: Incorporating patient-reported outcomes (PROs) into routine care of atrial fibrillation (AF) enables direct integration of symptoms, function, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) into practice. We report our initial experience with a system-wide PRO initiative among AF patients., Methods and Results: All patients with AF in our practice undergo PRO assessment with the Toronto AF Severity Scale (AFSS), and generic PROs, prior to electrophysiology clinic visits. We describe the implementation, feasibility, and results of clinic-based, electronic AF PRO collection, and compare AF-specific and generic HRQoL assessments. From October 2016 to February 2019, 1586 unique AF patients initiated 2379 PRO assessments, 2145 of which had all PRO measures completed (90%). The median completion time for all PRO measures per visit was 7.3 min (1st, 3rd quartiles: 6, 10). Overall, 38% of patients were female (n = 589), mean age was 68 (SD 12) years, and mean CHA2DS2-VASc score was 3.8 (SD 2.0). The mean AFSS symptom score was 8.6 (SD 6.6, 1st, 3rd quartiles: 3, 13), and the full range of values was observed (0, 35). Generic PROs of physical function, general health, and depression were impacted at the most severe quartiles of AF symptom score (P < 0.0001 for each vs. AFSS quartile)., Conclusion: Routine clinic-based, PRO collection for AF is feasible in clinical practice and patient time investment was acceptable. Disease-specific AF PROs add value to generic HRQoL instruments. Further research into the relationship between PROs, heart rhythm, and AF burden, as well as PRO-guided management, is necessary to optimize PRO utilization., (Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author(s) 2019. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)