Prone-position computed tomography in the late phase for detecting
intracardiac thrombi in the left atrial appendage before catheter
ablation for atrial fibrillation
Abstract
Background: Contrast computed tomography (CT) is a useful tool for the
detection of intracardiac thrombi. We aimed to assess the accuracy of
the late-phase prone-position contrast CT (late-pCT) for thrombus
detection in patients with persistent or long-standing persistent atrial
fibrillation (AF). Methods: Early and late-phase pCT were performed in
300 patients with persistent or long-standing AF. If late-pCT did not
show an intracardiac contrast defect (CD), catheter ablation (CA) was
performed. Immediately prior to CA, intracardiac echocardiography (ICE)
from the left atrium was performed to confirm thrombus absence and the
estimation of the blood velocity of the left atrial appendage (LAA). For
patients with CDs on late-pCT, CA performance was delayed, and late-pCT
was performed again after several months following oral anticoagulant
alterations or dosage increases. Results: Of the 40 patients who
exhibited CDs in the early phase of pCT, six showed persistent CDs on
late-pCT. In the remaining 294 patients without CDs on late-pCT, the
absence of a thrombus was confirmed by ICE during CA. In all six
patients with CD-positivity on late-pCT, the CDs vanished under the same
CT conditions after subsequent anticoagulation therapy, and CA was
successfully performed. Furthermore, the presence of residual contrast
medium in the LAA on late-pCT suggested a decreased blood velocity in
the LAA (≤ 15 cm/s) (sensitivity = 0.900 and specificity = 0.621).
Conclusions: Late-pCT is a valuable tool for the assessment of
intracardiac thrombi and LAA dysfunction in patients with persistent or
long-standing persistent AF before CA.