Risk of atrioesophageal fistula with cryoballoon ablation of atrial fibrillation

BACKGROUND: Although there are considerable data on the safety of cryoablation, data on the rare but severe complication of atrioesophageal fistula (AEF) following cryoballoon ablation are limited. OBJECTIVE: To report the global, user-reported incidence of AEF associated with cryoballoon ablation for the treatment of atrial fibrillation using Medtronic’s complaint database. METHODS: User-reported cryoballoon ablation complications occurring between July 1, 2009, and March 31, 2019, were reviewed to identify cases of AEF. A global event rate of AEF was calculated by dividing the event count by total catheter utilization over the same period. Data on symptoms and patient sequalae were reported as available. RESULTS: More than 500,000 Arctic Front cryoballoon catheters (Arctic Front, Arctic Front Advance, Arctic Front Advance ST, and Arctic Front Advance Pro; Medtronic, Inc) were distributed globally during the 9.75-year study period. During this time, 18 confirmed AEF, 1 suspected AEF, and 1 pericardial esophageal fistula were identified; therefore, global incidence of AEF associated with the Arctic Front family of ablation catheters was 0.00396%. Patients most commonly presented with fever (88.2%), and initial symptoms were reported a median of 21 (interquartile range: 4–30) days after the ablation. Although rare, the development of an AEF resulted in death in 68.8% (11/16) of patients with known outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: AEF is a possible but rare complication of cryoballoon ablation with a reported frequency of 1 in every 25,000 patients treated. Awareness of the prevalence and manifestation of AEF associated with cryoballoon ablation is critical for early identification and treatment of this complication.