This work presents the results of a new tool for 3-D segmentation, quantification and visualization of cardiac left atrium fibrosis, based on late gadolinium enhancement magnetic resonance imaging (LGE-MRI), for stratifying patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) that are candidates for radio-frequency catheter ablation. In this study 10 consecutive patients suffering AF with different grades of atrial fibrosis were considered. LGE-MRI and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) images were used to detect and quantify fibrosis of the left atrium using a threshold and 2-D skeleton based approach. Quantification and 3-D volumetric views of atrial fibrosis were compared with quantification and 3-D bipolar voltage maps measured with an electro-anatomical mapping (EAM) system, the clinical reference standard technique for atrial substrate characterization. Segmentation and quantification of fibrosis areas proved to be clinically reliable among all different fibrosis stages. The proposed tool obtains discrepancies in fibrosis quantification less than 4% from EAM results and yields accurate 3-D volumetric views of fibrosis of left atrium. The novel 3-D visualization and quantification tool based on LGE-MRI allows detection of cardiac left atrium fibrosis areas. This noninvasive method provides a clinical alternative to EAM systems for quantification and localization of atrial fibrosis.
CEUS is an accurate and cheap imaging method in post-EVAR follow-up patients, and it could be considered as a valid alternative to CTA, after the first year of negative controls, reducing the number of unnecessary CT examinations.
Background: Left atrial appendage occlusion is an increasingly proposed treatment for patients with atrial fibrillation and poor tolerance to anticoagulants. All endovascular devices require antithrombotic therapy. Anatomical and clinical variables predisposing to device-related thrombosis, as well as post-procedural peri-device leaks, could mandate the continuation or reintroduction of aggressive antithrombotic treatment. Because of the absence of foreign material inside the heart, epicardial appendage closure possibly does not necessitate antithrombotic therapy, but data of large series are missing. Methods: Multidisciplinary team evaluation for standalone totally thoracoscopic epicardial appendage closure was done in 180 consecutive patients with atrial fibrillation and poor tolerance to antithrombotic therapy. One hundred and fifty-two patients consented (male 66.1%, mean age 76.1 ± 7.4, CHA2DS2VASc mean 5.3 ± 1.6, HASBLED mean 3.8 ± 1.1). Indications were cerebral hemorrhage (48%), gastro-intestinal bleeding (33.3%), and other bleeding (20.7%). No antithrombotic therapy was prescribed from the day of surgery to the latest follow up. Results: Procedural success was 98.7%. At a mean follow up of 38.2 ± 18.8 months, cardioembolic and bleeding events were 1.3% and 0.6%, respectively. Among patients with a history of blood transfusions (41.1%), none needed further transfusions or treatment post procedure. Conclusion: Epicardial appendage occlusion without any antithrombotic therapy appears to be safe and effective. This strategy could be advised when minimization of bleeding risk concomitant to stroke prevention is needed.
The aim of this pictorial essay is to illustrate the morphological [computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)], vascular (angiography) and functional (nuclear medicine) features of paragangliomas, uncommon lesions of the head and neck region and even more of the thorax, abdomen and pelvis, arising in an endemic area in northern Italy. These hypervascular, well-circumscribed masses usually have innocuous clinical manifestations as slowly enlarging soft-tissue lesions; however, more rarely, they can cause cranial-nerve palsy, particularly lesions arising near the skull base, or symptoms related to their secreting activity. Most paragangliomas are benign and their prognosis is directly related to the location of the tumour: those arising at the carotid body have the best outcome, whereas those located at the skull base have a less favourable prognosis. Angiography is required preoperatively in larger paragangliomas for surgical planning (vascular mapping) and, rarely, for preoperative embolisation. Morphological and functional imaging is also mandatory for surgical and/or radiometabolic treatment planning and follow-up.
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