Aim: Atrial flutter (AFL) ablation requires optimal periprocedural anticoagulation in order to minimize thromboembolic events/bleeding risk. This study describes the characteristics of patients receiving new oral anticoagulants before AFL ablation and assesses complications. Methods: This multicenter, retrospective study reports ischemic and hemorrhagic predischarge, postprocedural complications. Results: We evaluated 60 patients (62.3% male; mean age: 69.2 ± 9.7 years; CHA₂DS₂-VASc score: 2.44 ± 1.46, HAS-BLED score: 1.14 ± 0.7). Twenty-one (35.0%) and 23 patients (38.3%) received twice-daily dabigatran 110 or 150 mg; 16 patients (26.6%) received once-daily rivaroxaban (15 mg [n = 5] or 20 mg [n = 11]). Four cases of postprocedural minor bleeding were reported. Conclusion: This is the first study assessing new oral anticoagulants for periprocedural anticoagulation, specifically in patients undergoing AFL ablation. No major bleeding was reported. Further prospective investigation is warranted.

Keywords:

Papers of special note have been highlighted as: • of interest

References

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Vol. 10, No. 6

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Published online 12 December 2014

Published in print November 2014

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank A Elhraiech for providing assistance with the statistical analysis.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

W Amara has received speaker honoraria from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer and Bristol-Myers Squibb. J Taieb has acted as an expert consultant for Bayer and Bristol-Myers Squibb. N Saoudi declares being a shareholder and scientific advisory board member of Endosense and has received honoraria from Stereotaxis and lecture fees from Sanofi, Bayer and Boehringer Ingelheim. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

The authors would like to thank DP Figgitt (Content Ed Net) for providing editorial assistance in the preparation of this manuscript; funding for this editorial assistance was provided by Boehringer Ingelheim SAS, France.

Ethical conduct of research

The authors state that they have obtained appropriate institutional review board approval or have followed the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki for all human or animal experimental investigations. In addition, for investigations involving human subjects, informed consent has been obtained from the participants involved.

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