A systematic review of the effectiveness of catheter ablation NavX mapping system for treatment of the cardiac arrhythmia

BACKGROUND Catheter ablation is widely used for treatment of atrial fibrillation. The use of fluoroscopic and non-fluoroscopic mapping systems in catheter ablation is common. This study conducted to investigate the safety and effectiveness of Navx non-fluoroscopic mapping system. METHODS In this study, the appropriate electronic databases including Cochrane Library and Ovid Medline searched until August 2013 using free text and MeSH. Systematic reviews, health technology assessment reports in which systematic review was conducted and controlled trials with the sample size of 100 patients and more were included into the study. RESULTS of included studies were analyzed qualitatively. RESULTS Seven papers were included in this study. According to these studies, non-fluoroscopic guidance systems may reduce the exposure to radiation compared to fluoroscopic system. NavX system has minimum exposure time. Non-fluoroscopic guidance systems are safer than fluoroscopic guidance system. NavX system reduces the procedure and fluoroscopy time. There was no significant difference between two systems, NavX and Carto, based on their safety and effectiveness. CONCLUSION Ensite NavX system is relatively safer and more effective than fluoroscopic guidance systems for treating the cardiac arrhythmia.