Can transesophageal echocardiography be safely omitted in patients scheduled for elective ablation of atrial arrhythmias? Data based on the LATTEE registry.

BACKGROUND

According to the present guidelines, transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) before scheduled catheter ablation (CA) for atrial arrhythmias (atrial fibrillation [AF] or atrial flutter [AFL]) is not deemed obligatory for optimally anticoagulated patients. However, daily clinical practice significantly differs from the recommendations.

AIMS: We aimed to identify transthoracic echocardiographic parameters that could be useful in identifying patients without left atrial thrombus (LAT), which makes it possible to avoid unnecessary TEE before scheduled CA.

METHODS

This is a sub-analysis of a multicenter, prospective, observational study - the LATTEE registry. A total of 1346 patients referred for TEE before scheduled CA of AF/AFL were included.

RESULTS

LAT was present in 44 patients (3.3%) and absent in the remaining 1302, who were younger, more likely to have paroxysmal AF, and displayed sinus rhythm during TEE. Additionally, they exhibited a lower incidence of heart failure, diabetes, systemic connective tissue disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Furthermore, they had a lower CHA2DS2-VASc score and a higher prevalence of direct oral anticoagulants. Echocardiographic parameters, including left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) >65%, left atrial diameter (LAD) <40 mm, left atrial area (LAA) <20 cm2, left atrial volume (LAV) <113 ml, and left atrial volume index (LAVI) <51 ml/m2, demonstrated 100% sensitivity and 100% negative predictive value for the absence of LAT and were met by 417 patients. Additional echocardiographic indices: LVEF/LAD ≥1.4, LVEF/LAVI ≥1.6, and LVEF/LAA ≥2.7 identified 57 additional patients, bringing the total of predicted LAT-free patients to 474 (35%).

CONCLUSIONS

Simple echocardiographic parameters could help identify individuals for whom TEE could be safely omitted before elective CA due to atrial arrhythmias.