Evaluation of ECG Imaging to Map Hemodynamically Stable and Unstable Ventricular Arrhythmias.

BACKGROUND: ECG imaging (ECGI) has been used to guide treatment of ventricular ectopy and arrhythmias. However, the accuracy of ECGI in localizing the origin of arrhythmias during catheter ablation of ventricular tachycardia (VT) in structurally abnormal hearts remains to be fully validated. METHODS: During catheter ablation of VT, simultaneous mapping was performed using electroanatomical mapping (CARTO, Biosense-Webster) and ECGI (CardioInsight, Medtronic) in 18 patients. Sites of entrainment, pace-mapping, and termination during ablation were used to define the VT site of origin (SoO). Distance between SoO and the site of earliest activation on ECGI were measured using co-registered geometries from both systems. The accuracy of ECGI versus a 12-lead surface ECG algorithm was compared. RESULTS: A total of 29 VTs were available for comparison. Distance between SoO and sites of earliest activation in ECGI was 22.6, 13.9 to 36.2 mm (median, first to third quartile). ECGI mapped VT sites of origin onto the correct AHA segment with higher accuracy than a validated 12-lead ECG algorithm (83.3% versus 38.9%; P=0.015). CONCLUSIONS: This simultaneous assessment demonstrates that CardioInsight localizes VT circuits with sufficient accuracy to provide a region of interest for targeting mapping for ablation. Resolution is not sufficient to guide discrete radiofrequency lesion delivery via catheter ablation without concomitant use of an electroanatomical mapping system but may be sufficient for segmental ablation with radiotherapy.

Predictors of change in bodily pain in early rheumatoid arthritis: an inception cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate possible predictors for lack of pain improvement after 1 year of treatment for early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: The Early Rheumatoid Arthritis Network (ERAN) database was used for analysis of baseline and 1-year pain data. The ERAN is a hospital-based inception cohort of 1,189 people. Short Form 36 questionnaire bodily pain scores were used to calculate change in pain at 1 year as the outcome. The proportion of the Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28) attributable to patient-reported components (joint tenderness and visual analog scale score; DAS28-P) at baseline was derived as a predictor. Predictors of less improvement in pain were investigated using adjusted odds ratios (OR(adj) ) generated by logistic regression, adjusting for 14 additional clinical and demographic covariates. RESULTS: Greater pain at baseline was associated with sex, high DAS28, worse mental health, and smoking. Most patients with early RA reported incomplete improvement in bodily pain after 1 year. The DAS28-P index did not significantly change in the patients whose disease remained active. Less improvement in pain was predicted by female sex (OR(adj) 3.41, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.35-8.64) and a high DAS28-P index at baseline (OR(adj) for tertiles 2.09, 95% CI 1.24-3.55). Other conventional RA risk factors did not predict pain changes. CONCLUSION: The factors most likely to predict less improvement in pain in early RA are female sex and a high DAS28-P index. A high DAS28-P index may reflect greater contributions of noninflammatory factors, such as central sensitization, to pain. Strategies in addition to inflammatory disease suppression may be required to adequately treat pain.