Review of interventional electrophysiology in Bulgaria in 2019 and 2020: data from the electronic ablation registry BG-EPHY

Abstract

This study presents data from the national electronic registry BG-EPHY on electrophysiologic (EP) cardiac ablations in 2019 and 2020. Material and methods. This is a retrospective study of a full two-year sample of the BG-EPHY registry. Sex and age distribution of the patients, number of ablations, electroanatomic mapping (EAM), irrigated ablations, distribution of different types of arrhythmia, intraprocedural success and complications are presented. Results. In 2019 four EP laboratories performed 1033 ablations in 652 men (63.1%) and 381 women, incl. 12 pediatric ablations (1.2%). EAM was used in 46.7% of the procedures, irrigation catheter was used in 52.2%, and cryocatheter – in 0.5%. The most common procedure was pulmonary vein isolation, followed by ablation for AV nodal reentrant tachycardia and typical atrial fl utter. In 2020 fi ve EP laboratories performed 835 ablations in 508 men (60.8%) and 327 women, incl. 8 pediatric ablations (1%). EAM was used in 50.9% of the ablations, irrigation catheter – in 54.5%, and cryocatheter – in 3.8%. The most common procedure was again pulmonary vein isolation. Ablation of typical atrial fl utter was the second most frequently performed procedure, ahead of AV nodal reentrant tachycardia. In 2020 the number of ablations of accessory pathways also distinctly dropped by 37%. In both years the acute success was over 98%, and the complications were less than 2%. Conclusion. The national registry of electrophysiology collects systematically and continuously basic data on all cardiac ablations performed in the country. The structure of the EP service is remarkably similar to other European countries. Acute success is very high, while intraprocedural complications are rare. In 2020 the number of the ablations dropped by 19% as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.