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Published on: December 16, 2022
Features of accessory pathways in adult Ebstein's anomaly
Wei Wei1, Xianzhang Zhan1, Yumei Xue1
1Department of Cardiology, Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong General Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, 510080 Guangdong, China.
Aims:
The aim of the study was to describe the complex electrophysiological features of accessory pathways (APs) in adult Ebstein's anomaly (EA).
Methods And Results:
We performed a retrospective study of 17 consecutive adult EA cases with APs who underwent electrophysiological study and radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) from November 2011 to May 2013. There were a total of 24 atrioventricular reentrant tachycardias (AVRTs) due to 23 APs, including 20 (87.0%) non-decremental conducting, 2 (8.7%) decremental conducting, and 1 (4.3%) nodofascicular bundle. Six (6/17 = 35.3%) patients had two APs while others had only one. Twenty-one APs (91.3%) in 15 patients were manifested and 2 APs (8.7%) in 2 patients were concealed. Six APs (26.1%) were broad, while 17 APs (73.9%) were narrow in width. Two patients suffered from duodromic tachycardias mediated by two APs. Accessory pathways were mainly located on the posterior, posteroseptal, and posterolateral tricuspid annulus (TA). Right ventriculography confirmed that all APs were located on the anatomic TA. All the patients remained free from tachycardias during 11.9 ± 6.8 months of follow-up after RFCA. For the 15 patients with manifest APs, 10 patients' electrocardiograms (ECGs) after RFCA demonstrated morphologies of right bundle branch block, while 5 patients' ECGs were normal.
Conclusions:
Accessory pathways in EA are predominantly right-sided, manifest and localize to the lower half of the anatomic TA. A number of APs in EA have broad widths. The incidence of multiple APs is high in these patients and RFCA is effective.
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