Inefficient contact lesions
The SureFlex sheath maintained better catheter-tissue contact than the
Agilis sheath, as demonstrated by a 20% overall fewer inefficient
contact lesions (i.e. lesions with CF < 5 g for more than 10%
of the ablation time; p < 0.001, Figure 4A). The odds ratio
(OR) for inefficient contact lesions was 0.605 for SureFlex versus
Agilis (95% CI: 0.371-0.976, p = 0.035), revealing a 39% lower chance
of inefficient contact lesions with the SureFlex sheath than Agilis.
While this reduction was consistent among all pulmonary veins, the
difference between SureFlex and Agilis was significant in the right PVs,
with 17% and 45% fewer inefficient contact lesions in the right
inferior and right superior PVs, respectively (p < 0.01;
Figure 4B). OR for SureFlex sheath versus Agilis for RIPV was 0.607
(95% CI: 0.35-1.03; p = 0.009) and RSPV was 0.583 (95% CI: 0.27-1.24;
p = 0.15).