Pulmonary Vein Stenosis Complicating Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation: Five Case Reports and Literature Review

The aim of this study is to characterize the clinical manifestations and features of pulmonary vein stenosis (PVS) by retrospectively analyzing clinical data of patients in addition to reviewing the literature simultaneously to improve the understanding of PVS complicating radiofrequency catheter ablation and to provide evidence for early diagnosis and timely treatment. Clinical, imaging, and follow-up data of 5 patients with PVS-complicating radiofrequency catheter ablation were retrospectively analyzed between January 2012 and December 2014 in Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China. Relevant studies previously reported were also reviewed. Three out of 5 patients received pulmonary angiography. The initial symptoms were not specific, presenting chest pain in 3 cases, hemoptysis in 2 cases. The average duration between radiofrequency ablation to the onset of symptoms was 5.8 months. The chest image results were consolidation and pleural effusion mainly. Veins distributed in the left lungs were mostly influenced in 4 patients, and the inferior veins in 3 patients. Cardiac ultrasound examinations showed pulmonary arterial hypertension in 2 patients. Two patients received selective bronchial artery embolization after bronchial artery radiography because of hemoptysis. One patient underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic biopsy because of the suspicion of tumor. PVS is a condition mostly undetected because of its silent manifestations and inconsistent follow-up. The accurate clinical diagnosis is very difficult. A careful review of medical history and follow-up observation may be useful for all the patients who received the radiofrequency catheter ablation to recognize PVS in the early stage.