scholarly journals Transition from Transesophageal Echocardiography to Cardiac Computed Tomography for the Evaluation of Left Atrial Appendage Thrombus Prior to Atrial Fibrillation Ablation and Incidence of Cerebrovascular Events During the COVID‐19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tauseef Akhtar ◽  
Ryan Wallace ◽  
Usama A Daimee ◽  
Erica Hart ◽  
Armin Arbab‐Zadeh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Computed Tomography ◽  
Atrial Fibrillation ◽  
Transesophageal Echocardiography ◽  
Left Atrial ◽  
Left Atrial Appendage ◽  
Cardiac Computed Tomography ◽  
Atrial Fibrillation Ablation ◽  
Atrial Appendage ◽  
Left Atrial Appendage Thrombus ◽  
Cerebrovascular Events

scholarly journals Transition from Transesophageal Echocardiography to Cardiac Computed Tomography for the Evaluation of Left Atrial Appendage Thrombus Prior to Atrial Fibrillation Ablation and Incidence of Cerebrovascular Events During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tauseef Akhtar ◽  
Ryan Wallace ◽  
Usama Daimee ◽  
Erica Hart ◽  
Armin Arbab-Zadeh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Computed Tomography ◽  
Atrial Fibrillation ◽  
Transesophageal Echocardiography ◽  
Left Atrial ◽  
Left Atrial Appendage ◽  
Cardiac Computed Tomography ◽  
Ct Imaging ◽  
Atrial Appendage ◽  
Af Ablation ◽  
Cerebrovascular Events

Background Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is variably performed before atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation to evaluate left atrial appendage (LAA) thrombus. We describe our experience with transitioning to the pre-ablation cardiac computed tomography (CT) approach for the assessment of LAA thrombus during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We studied consecutive patients undergoing AF ablation at our center. The study cohort was divided into pre- vs. post-COVID groups. The pre-COVID cohort included ablations performed during 1 year before the COVID-19 pandemic; pre-ablation TEE was used routinely to evaluate LAA thrombus in high-risk patients. Post-COVID cohort included ablations performed during the 1 year after the COVID-19 pandemic; pre-ablation CT was performed in all patients, with TEE performed only in patients with LAA thrombus by CT imaging. The demographics, clinical history, imaging, and ablation characteristics, and peri-procedural cerebrovascular events (CVE) were recorded. Results A total of 637 patients (pre-COVID n=424, post-COVID n=213) were studied. The mean age was 65.6  10.1 years in the total cohort, and the majority were men. There was a significant increase in pre-ablation CT imaging from pre to post-COVID cohort (74.8 vs. 93.9%, p=<0.01), with a significant reduction in TEEs (34.6 vs. 3.7%, p=<0.01). One patient in the post-COVID cohort developed CVE following negative pre-ablation CT. However, the incidence of peri-procedural CVE between both cohorts remained statistically unchanged (0 vs. 0.4%, p=0.33). Conclusion Implementation of pre ablation CT-only imaging strategy with selective use of TEE for LAA thrombus evaluation is not associated with increased CVE risk during the COVID- 19 pandemic.

scholarly journals Predicting Left Atrial Appendage Thrombus from Left Atrial Volume and Confirmation by Computed Tomography with Delayed Enhancement

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-85
Author(s):  
Kazuhiro Osawa ◽  
Rine Nakanishi ◽  
Indre Ceponiene ◽  
Negin Nezarat ◽  
William J. French ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Computed Tomography ◽  
Atrial Fibrillation ◽  
Left Atrial ◽  
Left Atrial Appendage ◽  
Cardiac Computed Tomography ◽  
Left Atrial Volume ◽  
Atrial Appendage ◽  
Volume Index ◽  
Atrial Volume ◽  
Left Atrial Appendage Thrombus

Assessing thromboembolic risk is crucial for proper management of patients with atrial fibrillation. Left atrial volume is a promising predictor of cardiac thrombosis. To determine whether left atrial volume can predict left atrial appendage thrombus in patients with atrial fibrillation, we conducted a prospective study of 73 patients. Left atrial and ventricular volumes were evaluated by cardiac computed tomography with retrospective electrocardiographic gating and then indexed to body surface area. Left atrial appendage thrombus was confirmed or excluded by cardiac computed tomography with delayed enhancement. Seven patients (9.6%) had left atrial appendage thrombus; 66 (90.4%) did not. Those with thrombus had a significantly higher mean left atrial end-systolic volume index (139 ± 55 vs 101 ± 35 mL/m2; P =0.0097) and mean left atrial end-diastolic volume index (122 ± 45 vs 84 ± 34 mL/m2; P =0.0077). On multivariate logistic regression analysis, left atrial end-systolic volume index (per 10 mL/m2 increase) was significantly associated with left atrial appendage thrombus (odds ratio [OR]=1.24; 95% CI, 1.03–1.50; P =0.02); so too was the left atrial end-diastolic volume index (per 10 mL/m2 increase) (OR=1.29; 95% CI, 1.05–1.60; P =0.02). These findings suggest that increased left atrial volume increases the risk of left atrial appendage thrombus. Therefore, patients with atrial fibrillation and an enlarged left atrium should be considered for cardiac computed tomography with delayed enhancement to confirm whether thrombus is present.

High rate of cardiac thrombus diagnosed by adding cardiac imaging in acute stroke computed tomography protocol

2020 ◽  
pp. 174749302096762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angélique Bernard ◽  
Thibault Leclercq ◽  
Pierre-Olivier Comby ◽  
Gauthier Duloquin ◽  
Frédéric Ricolfi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Computed Tomography ◽  
Atrial Fibrillation ◽  
Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Acute Stroke ◽  
Odds Ratio ◽  
Left Atrial ◽  
Left Atrial Appendage ◽  
Cardiac Computed Tomography ◽  
Atrial Appendage ◽  
Left Atrial Appendage Thrombus

Background Detection of left atrial appendage thrombus (LAAt) in acute stroke patients can be improved by cardiac computed tomography using prospective electrocardiogram-gated volume acquisition, which was added to the acute stroke computed tomography protocol in our institution in 2018. Aims To evaluate the factors and clinical management associated with LAAt in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods We retrospectively included 324 consecutive patients with ischemic stroke from November 2018 to October 2019. Clinical data and post-stroke management were compared in LAAt and no-LAAt patients. Results Thirty-five patients (10.8%; 95%CI 7.4–14.2) had LAAt and 289 had no-LAAt. LAAt patients were significantly older (82 ± 12 vs. 74 ± 14 yo for no-LAAt, p = 0.002), predominantly female (71% vs. 45%, p = 0.004), and were more likely to have previous atrial fibrillation (63% vs. 15%, p < 0.001) and previous stroke (32% vs. 14%, p = 0.005). There was no significant difference between groups in stroke localization or severity scales at admission or at hospital discharge. After multivariable analysis, female sex (odds ratio 2.51; 95%CI 1.09–5.77, p = 0.031), previous atrial fibrillation (odds ratio 4.87; 95%CI 2.11–11.22, p < 0.001), and left atrial volume >86 ml (odds ratio 5.33; 95%CI 1.70–16.69, p = 0.004) were independently associated with LAAt. More than a third of LAAt patients (37%) received acute heparin therapy compared to 13% of no-LAAt patients (p < 0.001). Moreover, despite comparable stroke severity at admission, the mortality rate was markedly higher in the LAAt group than in the no-LAAt group (37% vs. 13%, p < 0.001). Conclusions Cardiac computed tomography for left atrial appendage thrombus evaluation in routine acute stroke imaging protocol could be beneficial for decision-making with regard to the initiation of early anticoagulation.

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