Echocardiographic predictors of thrombus in left atrial appendage-The role of novel transthoracic parameters

Damian Kaufmann, Elżbieta Wabich, Agnieszka Kapłon-Cieślicka, Monika Gawałko, Monika Budnik, Beata Uziębło-Życzkowska, Paweł Krzesiński, Katarzyna Starzyk, Beata Wożakowska-Kapłon, Maciej Wójcik, Robert Błaszczyk, Jarosław Hiczkiewicz, Jan Budzianowski, Katarzyna Mizia-Stec, Maciej T Wybraniec, Katarzyna Kosmalska, Marcin Fijałkowski, Anna Szymańska, Mirosław Dłużniewski, Maciej HaberkaMichał Kucio, Błażej Michalski, Karolina Kupczyńska, Anna Tomaszuk-Kazberuk, Katarzyna Wilk-Śledziewska, Renata Wachnicka-Truty, Marek Koziński, Paweł Burchardt, Ludmiła Daniłowicz-Szymanowicz*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The left atrium appendage thrombus (LAAT) formation is a complex process. A CHA2DS2-VASc scale is an established tool for determining the thromboembolic risk and initiation of anticoagulation treatment in patients with atrial fibrillation or flutter (AF/AFL). We aimed to identify whether any transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) parameters could have an additional impact on LAAT detection.

METHODS: That is a sub-study of multicenter, prospective, observational study LATTEE (NCT03591627), which enrolled 3,109 consecutive patients with AF/AFL referred for transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) before cardioversion or ablation.

RESULTS: LAAT was diagnosed in 8.0% of patients. The univariate logistic regression analysis [based on pre-specified in the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis cut-off values with AUC ≥ 0.7] identified left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤ 48% and novel TTE parameters i.e., the ratios of LVEF and left atrial diameter (LAD) ≤ 1.1 (AUC 0.75; OR 5.64; 95% CI 4.03-7.9; p < 0.001), LVEF to left atrial area (LAA) ≤ 1.7 (AUC 0.75; OR 5.64; 95% CI 4.02-7.9; p < 0.001), and LVEF to indexed left atrial volume (LAVI) ≤ 1.1 (AUC 0.75, OR 6.77; 95% CI 4.25-10.8; p < 0.001) as significant predictors of LAAT. In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, LVEF/LAVI and LVEF/LAA maintained statistical significance. Calculating the accuracy of the abovementioned ratios according to the CHA2DS2-VASc scale values revealed their highest predictive power for LAAT in a setting with low thromboembolic risk.

CONCLUSION: Novel TTE indices could help identify patients with increased probability of the LAAT, with particular applicability for patients at low thromboembolic risk.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1059111
Number of pages10
JournalFrontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine
Volume9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Nov 2022

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