International Center for Postgraduate Medical Education LLC

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma accounts for
90% of the nearly half-million annual incident cases of esophageal cancer worldwide. The high costs and invasiveness of upper endoscopy constitute a limitation in providing adequate surveillance for at-risk individuals, including those with previous head and neck cancer. The ANGELA study is a prospective evaluation of the minimally-invasive capsule-sponge device, coupled with tissue biomarkers (p53-immunohistochemistry), to detect squamous neoplasia in high-risk individuals.

Cardioneuroablation (CNA) is a new method for the treatment of asystolic reflex syncope, however, optimal methods for identification of presumed sites of ganglionated plexi (GP), which are the target for CNA and are located in the epicardial fat, have not yet been established. This study will compare the accuracy of three methods used for identification of these areas: intracardiac recordings of fractionated atrial electrograms, intracardiac echocardiography and computed tomography. The study group will consist of 100 patients undergoing CNA in our institution. The procedure will be performed in a standard manner with the use of extracardiac vagal stimulation as the intraprocedural end-point. Correlation between the three methods used for localisation of optimal sites for CNA as well as their predictive value for achieving effective CNA will be computed.

Cardioneuroablation (CNA) is a promising tool to treat patients with asystolic reflex syncope. CNA acts through complete or near complete abolition of vagal nerve chronotropic and dromotropic effects on the heart, resulting in sinus node acceleration and improved atrio-ventricular conduction, which in turn prevents vagally-mediated reflex asystole. However, lack of parasympathetic protection may potentially be proarrhythmic, especially on the ventricular level. Whether this is a real threat is not known. Therefore, the aim of our study is to assess acute effects of CNA-induced total vagal denervation, measured by extracardiac vagal stimulation, on ECG and electrophysiological parameters as well as vulnerability to ventricular arrhythmias. The study group will consist of 50 consecutive patients undergoing CNA in our institution. Cardioneuroablation will be performed in standard manner. The following parameters will be assessed at baseline and after CNA (directly after CNA, after atropine injected after CNA and after isoproterenol bolus injected at the very end of the procedure): QTc interval, QT dispersion, right ventricular action potential duration, right ventricular effective refractory period and susceptibility to complex ventricular arrhythmias using programmed ventricular stimulation.