Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35456193›Full record

ArticleJournal of clinical medicine2022

Cardiac Tomography and Cardiac Magnetic Resonance to Predict the Absence of Intracardiac Thrombus in Anticoagulated Patients Undergoing Atrial Fibrillation Ablation.

Fatima Zaraket, Deva Bas, Jesus Jimenez, Benjamin Casteigt, Begoña Benito, Julio Martí-Almor, Javi Conejos, Helena Tizón-Marcos, Diana Mojón, Ermengol Vallès

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of clinical medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 36% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Brazilian Atrial Fibrillation Guidelines - 2025.Arquivos brasileiros de cardiologia · 2025
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Fatima ZaraketElectrophysiology Unit, Cardiology Department, Hospital del Mar, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
Deva BasElectrophysiology Unit, Cardiology Department, Hospital del Mar, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
Jesus JimenezElectrophysiology Unit, Cardiology Department, Hospital del Mar, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
Benjamin CasteigtElectrophysiology Unit, Cardiology Department, Hospital del Mar, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
Begoña BenitoElectrophysiology Unit, Cardiology Department, Hospital del Mar, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
Julio Martí-AlmorElectrophysiology Unit, Cardiology Department, Hospital del Mar, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
Javi ConejosElectrophysiology Unit, Cardiology Department, Hospital del Mar, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
Helena Tizón-MarcosElectrophysiology Unit, Cardiology Department, Hospital del Mar, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.ORCID 0000-0001-7942-9413
Diana MojónElectrophysiology Unit, Cardiology Department, Hospital del Mar, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
Ermengol VallèsElectrophysiology Unit, Cardiology Department, Hospital del Mar, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
Hospital Del Mar · ESUniversitat Autònoma de Barcelona · ES

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Pulmonary veins isolation (PVI) is a standard treatment for recurrent atrial fibrillation (AF). Uninterrupted anticoagulation for a minimum of 3 weeks before ablation and exclusion of left atrial (LA) thrombus with transesophageal echography (TEE) immediately before or during the procedure minimize peri-procedural risk. We aimed to demonstrate the utility of cardiac tomography (CT) and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) to rule out LA thrombus prior to PVI. Methods: Patients undergoing PVI for recurrent AF were retrospectively evaluated. Only patients that started anticoagulation at least 3 weeks prior to the CT/CMR and subsequently uninterrupted until the ablation procedure were selected. An intracardiac echo (ICE) catheter was used in all patients to evaluate LA thrombus. The results of CT/CMR were compared to ICE imaging. Results: We included 272 consecutive patients averaging 54.5 years (71% male; 30% persistent AF). Average CHA2DS2VASC score was 0.9 ± 0.83 and mean LA diameter was 42 ± 5.7 mm, 111 (41%) patients were on Acenocumarol and 161 (59%) were on direct oral anticoagulants. Anticoagulation was started 227 ± 392 days before the CT/CMR, and 291 ± 416 days before the ablation procedure. CT/CMR diagnosed intracardiac thrombus in two cases, both in the LA appendage. A new CT/CMR revealed resolution of thrombus after six additional months of uninterrupted anticoagulation. No macroscopic thrombus was observed in any patients with ICE (negative predictive value of 100%; p < 0.01). Conclusions: CT and MRI are excellent surrogates to TEE and ICE to rule out intracardiac thrombus in patients adequately anticoagulated prior AF ablation. This is true even for delayed procedures as long as anticoagulation is uninterrupted.

Indexed as

advanced imaging techniquesatrial fibrillationatrial fibrillation ablationintracardiac echography

Identifiers

PMID35456193
PMCPMC9031153
OpenAlexW4224252936

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.