Evaluation of quantification methods for left arial late gadolinium enhancement based on different references in patients with atrial fibrillation

Sung Ho Hwang, Yu Whan Oh, Dae In Lee, Jaemin Shim, Sang Weon Park, Young Hoon Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

By using late gadolinium enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance (LGE-CMR) imaging, we compared left atrial late gadolinium enhancement (LA-LGE) quantification methods based on different references to characterize the left atrial wall in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Thirty-eight patients who underwent three-dimensional LGE-CMR imaging before catheter ablation for AF were classified into three groups depending on their clinical AF type: (1) paroxysmal AF (PAF; n = 12); (2) persistent AF (PeAF; n = 16); and (3) recurrent AF after catheter ablation (RAF; n = 10). To quantify LA-LGE on LGE-CMR imaging, we used the thresholds of 2 standard deviations (2-SD), 3-SD, 4-SD, 5-SD, or 6-SD above the mean signal from the unenhanced left ventricular myocardium, and we used the full width at half maximum (FWHM) technique, which was based on the maximum signal from the mitral valve with high signal intensity. The 6-SD threshold and FWHM techniques were statistically reproducible with an intraclass correlation coefficient >0.7. On applying the FWHM technique, the normalized LA-LGE volume by LA wall area showed a significant difference between the RAF, PeAF, and PAF groups (0.22 ± 0.04, 0.16 ± 0.06, and 0.09 ± 0.03 mL/cm2, respectively) (P < 0.05). Furthermore, most of the fibrotic scarring and low-voltage tissue on the electroanatomic map corresponded well with the extent of LA-LGE. The FWHM technique based on the mitral valve can provide a reproducible quantification of LA-LGE related to AF in the thin LA wall.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)91-101
Number of pages11
JournalInternational Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging
Volume31
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2015 Nov 4

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2014, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

Keywords

  • Atrial fibrillation
  • Catheter ablation
  • Human
  • Magnetic resonance imaging
  • Reproducibility of results

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging
  • Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine

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