Predicting ventricular arrhythmia inducibility in ajmaline-induced Brugada type I pattern: Validation of the dST-Tiso interval

J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 2024 Sep;35(9):1747-1753. doi: 10.1111/jce.16348. Epub 2024 Jun 25.

Abstract

Introduction: The dST-Tiso is a newly proposed electrocardiographic (ECG) marker during Brugada (BrS) type I pattern, that predicts the likelihood of ventricular arrhythmia (VA) inducibility in patients with ajmaline-induced pattern. The objective of this study was to validate the effectiveness of this criterion using an independent data set.

Methods: Consecutive patients exhibiting a BrS type I ECG pattern following ajmaline administration underwent programmed ventricular stimulation (PVS). dST-Tiso interval was measured in all patients and tested as a predictor for positive VA inducibility.

Results: Among 128 patients (median age 43 years, 59% male) with drug-induced BrS type I ECG pattern who underwent PVS, 32 (25.0%) had VA inducibility that required defibrillation. Compared to noninducible subjects, those with positive PVS were more commonly male (81% vs. 51%, p = 0.003), had longer PQ (165 vs. 160 ms, p = 0.016) and dST-Tiso (310 vs. 230 ms, p < 0.001) intervals, and shorter QT interval (412 vs. 420 ms, p = 0.022). When treated as a continuous variable, dST-Tiso confirmed significant association with VA inducibility, with an adjusted odds ratio of 1.02 (95% confidence interval: 1.01-1.03, p < 0.001) for each 1 ms increase in duration. A dST-Tiso interval >300 ms yielded a sensitivity of 75%, a specificity of 86%, and positive and negative predictive values of 69% and 91%, respectively.

Conclusion: The validation of the model based on the dST-Tiso interval >300 ms confirmed its high accuracy in predicting VA inducibility in drug-induced BrS type I pattern. This straightforward ECG marker might be linked to the extent of the electrical substrate of the disease.

Keywords: Brugada syndrome; ajmaline test; programmed ventricular stimulation; sudden cardiac death.

Publication types

  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Action Potentials / drug effects
  • Adult
  • Ajmaline* / administration & dosage
  • Ajmaline* / adverse effects
  • Anti-Arrhythmia Agents / adverse effects
  • Brugada Syndrome* / chemically induced
  • Brugada Syndrome* / diagnosis
  • Brugada Syndrome* / physiopathology
  • Electrocardiography*
  • Female
  • Heart Rate / drug effects
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Predictive Value of Tests*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Tachycardia, Ventricular / chemically induced
  • Tachycardia, Ventricular / diagnosis
  • Tachycardia, Ventricular / physiopathology
  • Time Factors

Substances

  • Ajmaline
  • Anti-Arrhythmia Agents