Different scanning protocol to assess left atrial appendage thrombus in patients with atrial fibrillation by cardiovascular computed tomography

Fig. 1. A 76-year-old man without thrombus in the early phase. (A) Axial image obtained through the LAA and (B, C) curved multiplanar reconstruction image, no filling defect was found in the LAA. LA left atrium, LAA Left atrial appendage.

Fig. 2. Left atrial appendage pseudo-thrombus in the early phase. There was a filling defect in the LAA (arrow) in the early phase (A) which disappeared in the delayed scan (B). LA left atrium, LAA Left atrial appendage.

Fig. 3. Left atrial appendage thrombus and pseudo-thrombus. There was a filling defect in the LAA (arrow) in the early phase (A) which persisted in the delayed scan (B) and was confirmed on the TEE (C) (arrow). There was a filling defect in the LAA (arrow) in the early phase (D) which persisted in the delayed scan (E) and was not detected on the TEE (F) (arrow). LAA Left atrial appendage. TEE transesophageal echocardiogram.

Fig. 4. Filling defect changes in association with the CT position and scanning phase. A filling defect (arrow) was detected in both the early and delayed phases (A) and (B) in the supine position, which disappeared in the prone position (C). A filling defect (arrow) was detected in both the early phase (D) and the second phase (E 1-min delayed) in the supine position, which disappeared in the third phase (F 3-min delayed) in the supine position. LA left atrium, LAA Left atrial appendage.