Left Atrial Ejection Fraction Assessed by Prior Cardiac CT Predicts Recurrence of Atrial Fibrillation after Pulmonary Vein Isolation

• Main Authors: Reinhard Kaufmann, Richard Rezar, Bernhard Strohmer, Bernhard Wernly, Michael Lichtenauer, Wolfgang Hitzl, Matthias Meissnitzer, Klaus Hergan, Marcel Granitz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
• Series: Journal of Clinical Medicine
• Subjects: left atrial transport function; atrial fibrillation; pulmonary vein isolation; outcome; prediction; cardiac computed tomography
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/10/4/752

Assuming that atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with left atrial remodeling and dysfunction, we hypothesize that left atrial and left atrial appendage ejection fractions (LAEF and LAAEF) are useful and may be more sensitive outcome predictors of pulmonary vein isolation (PVI). Fifty patients who underwent PVI at our institution with available pre-interventional cardiac computed tomography (CT) for procedure planning were included in this retrospective study. The patients were separated into two groups by recurrence and non-recurrence of AF and subgroups of paroxysmal and persistent AF. Semiautomatic volumetric analysis of the left atrium was used to calculate morphological and functional parameters and optimal cut-offs were calculated using the Youden index. LAEF (accuracy 94%, sensitivity 67%) and LAAEF (accuracy 90%, sensitivity 67%) were significantly reduced in patients with AF recurrence (16% vs. 36%, <i>p</i> = 0.00002; 16% vs. 42%, <i>p</i> = 0.000002), and in the subgroup analysis, the functional parameters were independent from AF type (paroxysmal and persistent). With a cut-off of <23% for both LAEF and LAAEF (area under the curve (AUC) 0.94, 95%CI 0.84–0.99 and AUC 0.96, 95%CI 0.86-0.99, respectively), AF recurrence occurred in 77.8%, within a mean follow-up period of 229 days. In conclusion, left atrial function on prior cardiac CT offers useful parameters for predicting AF recurrence after PVI.