Volume 36, Issue 3 pp. 632-641
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Rationale and Design of the InsightPFA Trial: A Prospective, Multicenter, Randomized Controlled Trial of the Irreversible Electroporation-Based Pulsed Field Ablation Versus Radiofrequency Ablation in Chinese Patients With Symptomatic Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation

Weidong Lin

Weidong Lin

Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China

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Sijia Pu

Sijia Pu

Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China

School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China

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Huimin Chu

Huimin Chu

First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo, China

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Dong Chang

Dong Chang

Xiamen Cardiovascular Hospital, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China

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Xiaomeng Yin

Xiaomeng Yin

Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China

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Yuegang Wang

Yuegang Wang

Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China

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Yizhou Xu

Yizhou Xu

Department of Cardiology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China

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Shaolong Li

Shaolong Li

Department of Cardiac Surgery, Yan'an Hospital of Kunming City, Yan'an Hospital of Kunming Medical College; Yan'an Hospital of Kunming City, Yunnan Cardiovascular Hospital, Kunming, China

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Jian Yang

Jian Yang

Yichang Central People's Hospital, Yichang, China

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Wenqing Zhu

Wenqing Zhu

ZhongShan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China

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Songnan Li

Songnan Li

Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijign, China

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Weidong Gao

Weidong Gao

Jiangmen Central Hospital, Jiangmen, China

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Yanbo Chen

Yanbo Chen

Department of Cardioangiology (South Area), Weifang People's Hospital, Weifang, China

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Dong Xu

Dong Xu

Insight Lifetech Co. Ltd., Shenzhen, China

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Chenyang Jiang

Corresponding Author

Chenyang Jiang

Department of Cardiology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

Correspondence: Yumei Xue ([email protected])

Chenyang Jiang ([email protected])

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Yumei Xue

Corresponding Author

Yumei Xue

Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China

School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China

Correspondence: Yumei Xue ([email protected])

Chenyang Jiang ([email protected])

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First published: 24 January 2025

Weidong Lin and Sijia Pu contributed equally to this work.

ABSTRACT

Background

Pulsed field ablation (PFA) is gaining recognition as a nonthermal, tissue-specific technique for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). The preclinical evaluation of the investigated novel PFA system from Insight Medtech Co. Ltd has demonstrated feasibility, safety, and 30-day efficacy for pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) in the swine model. We are currently conducting a randomized controlled trial to compare the PFA directly with ablation-index (AI)-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for PVI.

Methods and Results

The InsightPFA trial is a prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial to compare the effectiveness and safety of PFA versus RFA for PVI in Chinese patients with symptomatic paroxysmal AF. Two hundred and ninety-two patients diagnosed with symptomatic paroxysmal AF will be randomly assigned to either the PFA group or the RFA group in a 1:1 ratio. All subjects will undergo PVI using PFA or AI-guided RFA and be followed up to 12 months. The primary endpoint is defined as freedom from any episodes of AF/AFL/AT without Class I or III antiarrhythmic drugs during the 9-month follow-up period after a 90-day blank period. The secondary endpoints of effectiveness include acute treatment success and procedural data. The safety evaluation includes a composite of death, stroke and transient ischemic attack, procedure-related complications, device-related adverse events, and serious adverse events. A noninferiority comparison will be conducted between the novel PFA system and the existing RFA system in terms of both effectiveness and safety.

Conclusions

This trial aims to determine whether the InsightPFA for PVI is as effective and safe as standard RFA in the treatment of symptomatic paroxysmal AF.

Trial Registration: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06014996; NCT06014996.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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