Abstract
PurposeCardiac computed tomography (CT) depiction of the relationship between spontaneous echocardiographic contrast (SEC) and findings of the left atrial appendage (LAA) has not been reported. We evaluated predictors of SEC within the LAA using findings of cardiac CT in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed cardiac CT findings of the LAA, including morphology, volume, and filling defects, of 641 patients who underwent Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) prior to pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) from January 6, 2013 through December 16, 2019 at our institution. We investigated potential associated factors that might be predictors of SEC and computed a receiver operator characteristic,choosing a threshold value at which the likelihood of SEC could be predicted based on the LAA volume indexed for body size.ResultsSEC correlated significantly with history of persistent AF (P<0.001; odds ratio [OR], 3.74; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.91–7.29), LAA early filling defects (P =0.003; OR, 2.83; 95% CI, 1.43–5.62), LAAFV (P<0.001; OR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.96–0.99), and indexed LAA volume (P = 0.001; OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.07–1.30) of 8.04 cm3/m2 or greater (sensitivity, 75.0%; specificity, 48.7%).The addition of LAAFV to indexed LAA volume increased the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve from 0.642 to 0.724 (P< 0.001).ConclusionFindings of LAA in cardiac CT might allow the noninvasive estimation of SEC and additional information for risk stratification and management of thromboembolic events in patients with AF.
Clinical Characteristics of Patients with Atrial Fibrillation with Left Atrial Appendage Filling Defect Identified at Early Phase of Enhanced Cardiac Computed Tomography
