BACKGROUND: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is the recommended treatment of choice for supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), whereas implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) is recommended for patients at high risk for sudden death due to ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation. Radiofrequency ablation has been proven to improve the quality of life of patients with SVT, whereas an ICD has been shown to reduce mortality among patients at risk for sudden cardiac death. Both procedures are expensive and usually beyond the reach of the average Filipino patient. OBJECTIVES: The objectives are to (1) determine the cost of hospitalization for cardiac arrhythmias that require RFA and cardioverter-defibrillator implantation in the Philippines, (2) propose revised Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) benefit packages for both procedures, and (3) determine the budget impact of the proposed revised packages. METHODS: Hospitalization costs were obtained for both RFA and cardioverter-defibrillator implantation from two government tertiary care hospitals. A range of hospitalization costs involving possible lower and higher cost scenarios was estimated. Based on these estimates and the yearly number of arrhythmias that require these procedures, revised benefit packages for both RFA and cardioverter-defibrillator implantation were proposed to PhilHealth. The budget impact analysis for the first 3 and 5 years of implementation of these revised packages was subsequently calculated. RESULTS: The estimated hospitalization costs for RFA ranged from Philippine pesos (PHP) 248,485 to 310,480, whereas for cardioverter-defibrillator implantation, the costs ranged from PHP 509,122 to 581,940. These amounts are greatly disparate from the present PhilHealth coverages, which are PHP 9700 and 18,000 for RFA and cardioverter-defibrillator implantation, respectively. Based on these hospitalization costs, the proposed RFA benefit package is PHP 275,000 to 310,000, whereas for an ICD benefit package, PHP 513,000 to 576,000 is proposed. The incremental cost of more than PHP 300 million for RFA and more than PHP 700 million for an ICD is distributed for the next 3 or 5 years of implementation for these benefit packages, respectively. CONCLUSION The present PhilHealth case rates for both RFA and cardioverter-defibrillator implantation are greatly underestimated, which probably is the reason for their underutilization. There is a need to revise these case rates with due consideration of their actual hospitalization costs to lessen inequity in accessing these procedures.
Radiofrequency Ablation ; Defibrillators, Implantable

Microwave thermal ablation technology is widely used in the treatment of liver tumors because of its minimal invasiveness and small side effects. The precise control of the thermal dose largely determines the therapeutic effect of microwave thermal ablation. However, the current magnetron-based microwave thermal ablation device has the disadvantages of poor power output stability and high operating voltage. In view of the above problems, this paper selected the microwave solid-state source as the core device of microwave output, and designed a dual-frequency microwave thermal ablation system based on 2 450 MHz and 433 MHz. The system used the power detection circuit to perform PID feedback control on the actual output power of the system. The experimental results show that the maximum output power of the system is less than 1 W. The PID algorithm further enhances the accuracy and stability of the system output power while improving the system security. The dual-frequency microwave thermal ablation system designed in this paper can provide a safe and reliable experimental platform for subsequent research.
Catheter Ablation ; instrumentation ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; therapy ; Microwaves ; Radiofrequency Ablation

The feasibility of ultrasound backscatter homodyned K model parametric imaging (termed homodyned K imaging) to monitor coagulation zone during microwave ablation was investigated. Two recent estimators for the homodyned K model parameter, RSK (the estimation method based on the signal-to-noise ratio, the skewness, and the kurtosis of the amplitude envelope of ultrasound) and XU (the estimation method based on the first moment of the intensity of ultrasound,
Algorithms ; Animals ; Liver/diagnostic imaging* ; Microwaves ; Radiofrequency Ablation ; Swine ; Ultrasonography

INTRODUCTION: Radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFA) is an interventional cardiac electrophysiologic procedure that uses heat energy for definitive management of supraventricular tachycardias. It is a class I recommendation for chronic management of most supraventricular arrhythmias. No local data exist in the incidence hospitalization for SVT and utilization of RFA for this condition. The study aimed to obtain the prevalence of hospitalization of patients with supraventricular tachycardias where RFA is utilized, including the patients’ demographic profile, length of hospitalization, and mortality rate. METHODOLOGY: Philippine Health Insurance Corporation claims for hospitalization from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2018, were reviewed. Data analysis was done using median and interquartile range for continuous data, and frequency and percentage distribution for categorical data. RESULTS: There were 1121 and 1149 claims for hospitalization for SVTs (atrial paroxysmal tachycardia, atrioventricular paroxysmal tachycardia, nodal paroxysmal tachycardia, and junctional tachycardia) in 2017 and 2018, respectively. This represents four hospitalization claims for SVT per 10,000 of the total PHIC claims. The majority of patients were female with median age of 52 years. Only 25 and 19 patients underwent radiofrequency ablation in 2017 and 2018, respectively. The majority of these patients were male and younger with a median age of 31 years. No mortality was recorded among patients admitted for catheter ablation. CONCLUSION In 2017 and 2018, hospitalization claims for SVT requiring catheter ablation were 0.04% (four hospitalization claims for SVT per 10,000 of the total claims) in both years. The majority of patients were admitted with pharmacologic therapy on discharge with very low utilization of radiofrequency ablation for long-term management.
Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Tachycardia, Supraventricular ; Radiofrequency Ablation ; prevalence ; Hospitalization

Because mammary glands are regulated by endocrine factors, they are prone to various abnormalities and disorders. Breast nodules are common and occur frequently in clinical practice. The clinical management of breast nodules mainly includes follow-up observation, lesion biopsy, and surgical intervention, and surgical intervention is an effective treatment. Ultrasound-guided percutaneous microwave ablation is a new minimally invasive treatment technology developed in recent years. It has the advantages of short operation time, no scarring, less damage to the lactiferous duct, quick recovery, and good curative effects without bleeding. The establishment of an expert consensus on microwave ablation for benign breast nodules aims to provide a reliable clinical basis for microwave ablation of benign breast nodules, standardize the treatment process, and improve treatment efficacy, so as to serve as a reference for physicians in clinical practice.
Humans ; Consensus ; Microwaves/therapeutic use* ; Catheter Ablation ; Thyroid Nodule/surgery* ; Radiofrequency Ablation ; Treatment Outcome

Catheter Ablation ; Graves Disease/surgery* ; Humans ; Microwaves/therapeutic use* ; Radiofrequency Ablation ; Treatment Outcome ; Ultrasonography ; Ultrasonography, Interventional

Objective: To explore the clinical value of ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation in the treatment of retroperitoneal tumors. Methods: The clinical data of 13 patients with retroperitoneal tumors treated with ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2018 to January 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. The ablation effect was evaluated and the postoperative complications were observed. The changes of tumor volume before and after radiofrequency ablation were compared. Results: The symptoms of pain and dyspepsia were significantly improved after radiofrequency ablation, and the hospital stay was (9.2±2.9) days. The tumor was ablated completely in 10 cases, tumor residual in 1 case and tumor metastasis in 2 cases. One patient had postoperative duodenal perforation complicated with intra-abdominal infection, and no serious complications occurred in other patients. There were 20 lesions in 13 patients. The maximum diameter of 20 lesions before operation and 1, 3, 6 months after operation were (39.5±15.9) mm, (30.6±4.9)mm, (15.6±7.7) mm and (9.9±3.1) mm, respectively, the maximum diameters of 1, 3 and 6 months after operation were smaller than that before operation (P<0.05). Conclusion: Ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation is a real-time, accurate, safe and effective minimally invasive treatment with few complications, and has a high clinical value for retroperitoneal tumors.
Catheter Ablation ; Humans ; Radiofrequency Ablation ; Retroperitoneal Neoplasms/surgery* ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Ultrasonography, Interventional

Atrial Fibrillation/surgery* ; Catheter Ablation ; Heart Atria ; Humans ; Intracranial Embolism/surgery* ; Radiofrequency Ablation ; Treatment Outcome

Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic/surgery* ; Catheter Ablation ; Echocardiography ; Humans ; Radiofrequency Ablation ; Treatment Outcome

Atrial Fibrillation/surgery* ; Catheter Ablation ; Humans ; Radiofrequency Ablation ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome