Abstract Body (Do not enter title and authors here): Background: Patients undergoing catheter ablation (CA) of ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) are generally observed overnight in the hospital given the concern for complications.
Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of same day discharge (SDD) of patients undergoing elective CA of VAs.
Methods: A retrospective evaluation of all patients undergoing elective VA ablation at Ascension St Vincent Hospital from January 01, 2018, to December 31, 2019, was undertaken. Patients underwent SDD at the discretion of the operator. The primary safety outcome was the 30-day incidence of complications (CVA, mortality, pericardial effusion, heart block, hematoma, pseudoaneurysm, myocardial infarction, pneumothorax, acute blood loss, acute kidney injury, respiratory failure, rehospitalization) and death. The primary efficacy outcome was procedural success.
Results: Among 188 patients who underwent VA ablation, 61 (32.4%) were SDD. The SDD group was younger (55.8±14.4 vs 64.1±12.8 years old; p=0.01) and had a higher ejection fraction (48.7±12.7 vs 38.2±16.6%; p=0.01). The SDD group had more premature ventricular complex (PVC) ablations (90.2% PVC, 6.6% VT (ventricular tachycardia) and 3.3% both ablations) while the non-SDD group had 33.9% PVC, 54.3% VT, and 11.8% both ablations (p = 0.01). There were no complications in the SDD group compared with 8 (4.3%) in the non-SDD group (p=0.045). There was no difference in primary efficacy between the two groups with a 91.8% acute success in the SDD and 92.1% in the non-SDD (p=0.94).
Conclusion: Same-day discharge for CA of PVCs is feasible and could lower health care resource utilization without compromising outcomes in this unique population.