loading page

Feasibility and Safety of the Percutaneous and Non-fluoroscopic Procedure for Left Atrial Appendage Closure in Patients at High-risk for Fluoroscopy
  • +8
  • Xiang-bin Pan,
  • Zou Mengxuan,
  • Donglin Zhuang,
  • Horst Sievert,
  • Yat-Yin Lam,
  • GUANGZHI ZHAO,
  • Wen-Bin Ou-Yang,
  • Feng-Wen Zhang,
  • Fang Fang,
  • Deyuan Zhang,
  • Anning Li
Xiang-bin Pan
Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Sciences

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

Author Profile
Zou Mengxuan
Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Sciences
Author Profile
Donglin Zhuang
Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Sciences
Author Profile
Horst Sievert
Cardiovascular Center
Author Profile
Yat-Yin Lam
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Author Profile
GUANGZHI ZHAO
Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Sciences
Author Profile
Wen-Bin Ou-Yang
Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Sciences
Author Profile
Feng-Wen Zhang
Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Sciences
Author Profile
Fang Fang
Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Sciences
Author Profile
Deyuan Zhang
LifeTech Scientific Corporation
Author Profile
Anning Li
LifeTech Scientific Corporation
Author Profile

Abstract

Background Most patients undergoing left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) are elderly individuals with atrial fibrillation (AF) and many comorbidities, which may elevate the risk for complications associated with contrast agents with fluoroscopic image-guided procedure. . Objectives This retrospective study of patients with AF at high risk for use of contrast agents evaluated the feasibility and safety of LAAC using Percutaneous and Non-fluoroscopic procedure with transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) as the only image guidance relative to those under fluoroscopic image guidance. Methods From September 2017 to December 2020, a cohort of 126 consecutive eligible patients with AF undergoing LAAC at our center were retrospectively recruited and divided into 2 groups according to image guidance modality, namely, a TEE group (n = 32; mean age, 75.4 ± 7.9 years; 25 (78.1%) with stage III chronic kidney disease [preoperative eGFR, 52.7 ± 8.8 mL/min/1.73m 2] and 7 (21.9%) allergic to contrast agent) and a fluoroscopic group (n = 94; mean age, 65.7 ± 10.0 years). Propensity score matching was used to adjust for baseline differences. Results Propensity-score matching yielded 25 pairs of patients with similarly distributed age (72.9 ± 6.9 vs. 73.1 ± 4.9 years, p = .925), gender (10:15 vs 11:14, p = 1), weight (68.3 ± 11.2 vs. 68.1 ± 12.3 kg, p = .948) and ALT level (20.0 ± 9.8 vs. 22.5 ± 14.2 U/L, p = .482). The LAA was successfully occluded in all patients with statistically similar success rate (100% vs. 100%, p = 1), hospitalization duration (5.0 [3.0, 7.0] vs. 5.0 [3.0, 6.0] days, p = .498), and rates of complications: 1 (4.2%) pericardial effusion and 1 (4.2%) residual shunt in the TEE group, and 5 (20%) residual shunts, 1 (4.2%) pericardial effusion, 1 (4.2%) myocardial infarction and 1 (4.2%) access-related complications in the fluoroscopic group. There were no deaths. The overall incidence rate of all procedure-related complications (6.2% vs . 18.1%, p = .153) at mean 22.2±4.5 months follow-up was statistically similar. Conclusion In patients with AF of high risk for use of contrast agents, LAAC under non-fluoroscopic guidance appears feasible and safe with similar outcomes to that under fluoroscopic guidance.