Design and results of aCRT MID-Q study: Adoption of adaptive CRT in patients with normal AV conduction and moderately wide left bundle branch block.

Sub-analysis of the adaptive CRT (aCRT) trial demonstrated the potential benefits of the aCRT algorithm over conventional echo-guided bi-ventricular (BiV) pacing in patients with left bundle branch block (LBBB) with moderately wide QRS (120-149 ms) and normal atrioventricular (AV) conduction.Adoption of Adaptive CRT in Patients with Left Bundle Branch Block and Moderately Wide QRS (aCRT MID-Q, UMIN Clinical Trials Registry Number: 000022452) was a multicenter, prospective, randomized, double-blind study designed to investigate the superiority of the aCRT pacing algorithm compared to echo-guided BiV pacing in patients with moderately wide LBBB and normal AV conduction. The primary endpoint was the improvement in clinical composite score (CCS) at 6 months; the secondary endpoints were changes in left ventricular (LV) end-systolic volume, LV ejection fraction, New York Heart Association classification, 6-min walk distance, and quality of life from baseline to 6 months post-randomization; heart failure administration; all-cause mortality; and cardiac mortality within 12 months.The trial was terminated prematurely after enrollment of 39 patients (aCRT arm; n = 17, echo-guided BiV arm; n = 22) because of lower than expected enrollment. In the intention-to-treat analysis, the improvement of CCS was achieved in 10 patients (59%) in the aCRT arm (n = 17) and 16 patients (73%) in the echo-guided BiV arm (n = 22, p = 0.36). For the secondary endpoint, only 6-min walk distance was significantly greater in the aCRT arm than in the echo-guided BiV arm, and no difference was observed in the echocardiographic parameters. Heart failure hospitalization-free survival was also not significantly different (p = 0.91). There was no death during the follow-up.Improvement of CCS was similarly observed after aCRT and echo-guided BiV in CRT recipients with moderately wide LBBB and normal AV conduction. A prospective study is needed to explore the impact of CRT and pacing algorithm on Japanese patients with moderately wide LBBB.