Can Intracardiac Echocardiography Reduce Steam Pops During Half-Normal Saline Irrigated Radiofrequency Ablation?
Kanae HasegawaZachary T YonedaJose R Martines-ParachiniEdward M PowersGiovanni E DavogusttoTiffany Y HuKenichi TokutakeMasaaki KurataGregory F MichaudJay A MontgomerySharon T ShenJuan C EstradaPablo J SaavedraAmy EmersonMarilyn L WalkerHarikrishna TandriGregory F MichaudArvindh N KanagasundramWilliam G StevensonPublished in: Circulation. Arrhythmia and electrophysiology (2024)
Steam pops occurred in 2% of half-normal saline radiofrequency applications titrated to an impedance fall and are likely under-recognized without ICE. On ICE, steam pops are usually preceded by tissue whitening or a sudden increase in bubble formation, which can potentially be used to adjust radiofrequency application to help reduce pops.