{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T05:11:06Z","timestamp":1789017066378,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":22,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788998400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Cardiovasc. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Esophageal injury is a recognized complication of atrial fibrillation (AF) radiofrequency ablation, during pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) or posterior wall ablation. Mechanical esophageal deviation has emerged as a promising preventive strategy, however, commercially available deviation tools are not accessible outside the United States. We evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of using the transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) probe\u2014readily available in many electrophysiology labs\u2014for esophageal deviation during AF ablation.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In this prospective observational study, patients undergoing PVI\u2009\u00b1\u2009additional atrial ablation for AF were treated using esophageal deviation (Dev-Group) or using standard care (Std-Group) depending on the operating electrophysiologist. In the Dev-Group, esophageal position was identified using barium ingestion, and the TEE probe was manipulated to achieve maximal displacement away from posterior pulmonary vein (PV) ostia. Deviation of esophageal trailing edge &amp;gt;10\u2005mm from PV was defined as successful. Esophageal temperature was monitored in both groups using a multi-sensor probe.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Sixty patients (30 per group; 60 PV pairs each) were included. In the Dev-Group, 78% (47\/60) of PV pairs achieved &amp;gt;10\u2005mm esophageal separation vs. 30% (18\/60) at baseline (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&amp;lt;\u20090.001); PV-esophagus overlap dropped from 52% (31\/60) at baseline to 2% (1\/60) after deviation (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&amp;lt;\u20090.001). Temperature rises &amp;gt;38\u2005\u00b0C were observed during 2 radiofrequency applications in the Dev-Group versus 75 in the Std-Group (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&amp;lt;\u20090.001). No esophageal injuries were reported.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>TEE probe-guided esophageal deviation appears as a practical and effective technique for reducing esophageal proximity and thermal exposure during AF ablation, offering a valuable safety enhancement where dedicated tools are unavailable.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fcvm.2026.1917536","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T04:33:09Z","timestamp":1789014789000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Esophageal deviation using the transesophageal echocardiography probe during atrial fibrillation radiofrequency ablation: a prospective observational study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Fabien","family":"Squara","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Service de Cardiologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice","place":["Nice, France"]},{"name":"Unit\u00e9 de Recherche Clinique C\u00f4te d'Azur (UR2CA), Universit\u00e9 C\u00f4te d'Azur","place":["Nice, France"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sok-Sithikun","family":"Bun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Service de Cardiologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice","place":["Nice, France"]},{"name":"Unit\u00e9 de Recherche Clinique C\u00f4te d'Azur (UR2CA), Universit\u00e9 C\u00f4te d'Azur","place":["Nice, France"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Camille","family":"Verdan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Service de Cardiologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice","place":["Nice, France"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Didier","family":"Scarlatti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Service de Cardiologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice","place":["Nice, France"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Emile","family":"Ferrari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Service de Cardiologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice","place":["Nice, France"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3314","DOI":"10.1093\/eurheartj\/ehae176","article-title":"2024 Esc guidelines for the management of atrial fibrillation developed in collaboration with the European association for cardio-thoracic surgery (eacts)","volume":"45","author":"Van Gelder","year":"2024","journal-title":"Eur Heart 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