OBJECTIVES: To understand the use of Intracardiac echocardiography (ICE)-related confidence, values, and satisfaction of Chinese interventional cardiologists (IC).

METHODS: From August 2022 to October 2022, 100 IC with experience in using ICE to guide radio-frequency catheter ablation (RFCA) from hospitals across China participated in this survey regarding their experience with ICE (confidence, values, and satisfaction). The collected survey information was summarized by descriptive statistical methods. Multiple logistic and generalized linear regression analyses were conducted to explore the influential factors on recognized values and satisfaction of Chinese IC.

RESULTS: The included IC had an average age of 40.9 years and mainly worked in Tier-I (35.0%) and Tier-II cities (63.0%). Sixty-one IC had conducted more than 100 ICE-guided RFCA procedures. Compared to no ICE-guidance RFCA, IC who proceeded ICE-guided RFCA have significantly higher confidence scores in performing transseptal puncture (9.6 vs. 8.0, p<0.001) and cardiac tamponade monitoring (9.6 vs. 7.0, p<0.001). The widely recognized values of ICE among IC included detecting thrombus in the left atrium preoperatively (92.0%), optimizing transseptal puncture process (91.0%), reducing the risk of intraoperative complications (91.0%), reducing or eliminating intraoperative radiation exposure (89.0%), and avoiding transesophageal echocardiography (85.0%). Included IC was generally satisfied with using ICE to guide RFCA (4.3 out of 5 scores). The cumulative number of performed ICE-guided RFCA (≥100 vs. <100) was significantly correlated to the improved satisfaction score on the operation convenience of ICE (coefficient 0.101, p=0.025) and recognized ICE values for reducing or eliminating radiation exposure [odds ratio (OR) 5.113, p= 0.039] and saving ablation time (OR 3.794, p=0.048).

CONCLUSIONS: Chinese IC report that ICE-guided RFCA can significantly improve confidence in conducting transseptal puncture and cardiac tamponade monitoring. The values of ICE-guided RFCA are widely recognized and the Chinese IC with more ICE experience are likely to have higher satisfaction.