This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
Funding Acknowledgements
Type of funding sources: Other. Main funding source(s): Bangerter-Rhyner Foundation, Pfizer, GAMBIT foundation.
Background
Transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) may coexist in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) considered for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). The diagnosis of ATTR-CM by 99mTechnetium-3,3-diphosphono-1,2-propanodicarboxylic-acid (DPD)-scintigraphy is costly, whereas endomyocardial biopsy is associated with relevant procedural risks and sampling error.
Objectives
To evaluate whether ATTR-CM may be diagnosed by routine 4D cardiac computed tomography (4DCCT).
Methods
In a prospective screening study for ATTR-CM, the diagnostic performance of 4DCCT-based left- (LV), right ventricular (RV) and left atrial (LA) dimensions, ejection fraction (EF) and myocardial strain was evaluated against DPD-scintigraphy to identify ATTR-CM. Diagnostic predictors and a newly developed 4DCCT-score were validated by internal bootstrapping.
Results
Among 263 patients considered for TAVI (57% males,age 83±4.6 years) undergoing 4DCCT, DPD-scintigraphy (Perugini grade 2–3) confirmed co-existing ATTR-CM in 27 (10.3%) patients. Patients with ATTR-CM had impaired 4DCCT-based LVEF, LV global longitudinal strain (GLS), and LA-GLS. LV mass index, LV-GLS, LA-GLS and relative apical longitudinal strain (ratio of apical to basal/midventricular strain), each predicted the presence of ATTR-CM with an area under the curve (AUC) of >0.7. Implementing these parameters with cutoff-values of ≥81g/m2, ≥-14.9%, <11.5% and ≥1.7 in an unweighted score yielded high prognostic accuracy (AUC=0.89; 95%CI:0.81–0.94;p<0.001), robust to internal bootstrapping validation (AUC=0.88;95%CI:0.82–0.94). If two criteria were fulfilled, sensitivity and specificity to detect ATTR-CM were 96.3 and 58.9%, respectively.
Conclusions
Clinically indicated, routine 4DCCT in patients considered for TAVI provides high diagnostic yield to detect concomitant ATTR-CM, by assessing LV- and LA-GLS, LV relative apical longitudinal strain and LV mass index.
Preprocedural planning and postprocedural evaluation after transcatheter treatment of severe tricuspid regurgitation remain challenging and require further research and standardization. We illustrate the use of multimodality imaging techniques in 3 patients undergoing implantation of a novel custom-made bicaval valved stent for symptomatic treatment of severe tricuspid regurgitation. (
Level of Difficulty: Advanced.
)
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.