Comparison of left atrial appendage measurements between conventional transesophageal echocardiography and "Virtual TEE" reconstructed from computed tomography for pre-procedural planning of device closure.

For pre-procedural planning of left atrial appendage (LAA) closure, sizing is crucial. Although transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is a standard modality, cardiac computed tomography (CT) is also widely used. The virtual TEE (V-TEE) that our group developed enables us to reconstruct images similar to TEE images from CT images. The software should be helpful to understand and plan the procedure strategy. Accordingly, we investigated the utility of V-TEE. Sixty-six patients at 4 participating sites who completed both CT and TEE prior to LAA closure were included. The LAA diameter at the landing zone (LZ) for WATCHMAN™ device implantation was statistically compared at 0°, 45°, 90°, and 135° between V-TEE and TEE. Among 66 cases, only 3 cases were excluded due to poor imaging quality, and 63 cases were analyzed. The device LZ diameters based on V-TEE were strongly correlated with those based on TEE, despite the significantly greater diameter based on V-TEE with mean differences of 2.4 to 3.0 mm (all of them: P < 0.001). The discordances (V-TEE/TEE ratio) at most angles were significantly larger in the elliptical LAAs. V-TEE provides a valuable method for the evaluation of the LAA diameters. V-TEE-based measurements were larger than conventional TEE-based measurements, especially in cases of elliptical LAAs. The assessment by V-TEE has the potential benefit of ensuring proper device sizing regardless of the LAA morphology.

3D-computed tomography to compare the dimensions of the left atrial appendage in patients with normal sinus rhythm and those with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

Although paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) is an important cause of cardioembolic stroke, in contrast to chronic AF patients, the anatomical features of the left atrial appendage (LAA) in PAF patients remain unknown. Here, we investigated differences in LAA structures in patients with PAF and those with normal sinus rhythms (NSR) using 3D-computed tomography (3D-CT), which allows us to visualize complicated LAA structures at high spatial resolution. Study subjects were 30 consecutive PAF and 30 NSR patients with complete enhanced cardiac 3D-CT images available. After reconstruction of 3D LAA images, anatomical parameters of the LAA were measured and compared according to three proposed definitions of the LAA orifice plane determined by the following anatomical landmarks: DEF#1, center of warfarin ridge and centerline of proximal left circumflex artery; DEF#2, slope of warfarin ridge and mitral valve annulus; DEF#3, observers' discretion by progressive rotation using the observers' best estimate without the use of landmarks. The LAA volumes of the PAF groups were significantly greater than the NSR group according to all 3 definitions (DEF#1: 1.43 times, DEF#2: 1.44 times, and DEF#3: 1.36 times greater). The LAA orifice area was significantly larger in PAF than in NSR according to DEF#2, but was similar by DEF#1 and DEF#3. Intra-observer and inter-observer variations for any LAA measurements were very low. In conclusion, 3D-CT-based quantitative assessment of the LAA provides highly reproducible and detailed measurements, which can successfully discriminate differences of LAA volume between patients with NSR and those with PAF, suggesting significantly greater volumes in the latter.

Comparison of the Effects of Carperitide and Tolvaptan on Patients with Left Ventricular Dysfunction: A Two-Center Retrospective Study.

In patients with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction, diuretics can reduce blood pressure and lead to electrolyte abnormalities. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of tolvaptan (T group) and carperitide (C group) in these patients. Sixty-one consecutive patients admitted to the Iwate Prefectural Kuji Hospital or the Emergency Center of the Iwate Medical University between July 2011 and April 2015 were included in this study. These patients had acute heart failure (HF) and were initially treated with furosemide. Patients were excluded from the study if they received combined carperitide and tolvaptan, if they received tolvaptan or cardiotonic drugs prior to the study period, if their LV ejection fraction was ≥40%, and if they had renal dysfunction (serum creatinine > 2.0 mg/dL). There were no differences in the change in serum electrolytes in both groups, and none of the patients in the T group received supplementary dobutamine therapy. Oxygen administration was stopped successfully after a significantly shorter treatment period in the T group. These findings suggest that patients treated with tolvaptan did not require dobutamine as frequently as those treated with carperitide and indicated that tolvaptan may improve respiratory function more rapidly in patients with LV dysfunction.

Characteristics of Anatomy and Function of the Left Atrial Appendage and Their Relationships in Patients with Cardioembolic Stroke: A 3-Dimensional Transesophageal Echocardiography Study.

BACKGROUND: Increasing attention is being paid to the left atrial appendage (LAA) in the context of risk stratification in cardioembolic stroke (CES) and the requirement for meticulous planning of percutaneous closure device implantation. However, detailed systematic assessment of the LAA remains limited. METHODS: This study evaluated the anatomy and function of LAA using 3-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (3D-TEE) on 194 consecutive patients older than 50 years old hospitalized exclusively for CES. Patients were stratified into 3 groups on the basis of cardiac rhythm: (1) chronic atrial fibrillation (AF), n = 53; (2) paroxysmal AF, n = 26; and (3) no detected AF, n = 115. RESULTS: Significant differences between the groups were observed for anatomical (orifice area [OA], depth, diastolic volume) and functional parameters (ejection fraction [EF], flow velocity [FV]), as measured by 3D-TEE. The anatomical parameters were consistently the greatest, and functional parameters were the poorest, in the group with chronic AF. There were significant inverse correlations between them (r = -.33, P = .0003 for depth and EF; r = -.27, P = .0020 for depth and FV; r = -.22, P = .016 for OA and EF; and r = -.38, P < .0001 for OA and FV). CONCLUSIONS: LAA morphology and function were strongly affected by cardiac rhythm disturbances. Patients with chronic AF had the greatest LAA dimensions, areas, and volumes as well as the lowest LAA functions. An inverse correlation was observed between LAA size and function.