Cryoballoon Ablation With the POLARx FIT or the Arctic Front Advance Pro for Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation: A Health Economic Analysis

Background: Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is the main ablation strategy for the treatment of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Different technologies are available for PVI, including various cryoballoon catheters (CB-A). Compared with the Arctic Front Advance Pro™, the novel POLARx FIT™ CB-A might reduce costs for atrial fibrillation ablation. Objective: The aim of this study is to perform a health economic evaluation of two cryoballoon systems for PVI procedures. Methods: All patients undergoing their first PVI procedure with POLARx FIT™ CB-A or the Arctic Front Advance Pro™ CB-A were prospectively enrolled. The health economic analysis was performed on the index hospitalization and procedure. The primary safety endpoint included procedure-related adverse events within the index hospitalization. A decision tree model was built to estimate downstream costs. Results: A total of 80 patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation undergoing PVI were analyzed, with 40 patients in each arm. Compared with the Arctic Front Advance Pro™ CB-A, POLARx FIT™ CB-A showed a lower procedure time, left-atrium dwell time, and fluoroscopy time. The complication rate was low (6.3%) and included 3 reversible phrenic nerve palsies in the POLARx FIT™ CB-A group vs 2 in the Arctic Front Advance Pro™ CB-A group. Compared with the Arctic Front Advance Pro, the POLARx FIT™ CB-A was associated with lower procedural costs (€2069.7 ± €165.2 vs €2239.5 ± €366.0; P =.009). Conclusion: The POLARx FIT™ CB-A was associated with a shorter procedure time, translating into lower procedural costs, compared with the Arctic Front Advance Pro. Complications were rare and comparable between the two technologies.