Multiparametric Monitoring of Disease Progression in Contemporary Patients with Wild-Type Transthyretin Amyloid Cardiomyopathy Initiating Tafamidis Treatment.

BACKGROUND: Recently, a disease modifying therapy has become available for transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM). A validated monitoring concept of treatment is lacking, but a current expert consensus recommends three clinical domains (clinical, biomarker and ECG/imaging) assessed by several measurable features to define disease progression. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed data of wild-type ATTR-CM patients initiating tafamidis therapy assessed within our local routine protocol at baseline and 6-months follow-up with respect to the frequency of values beyond the proposed thresholds defining disease progression. Additionally, associations of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) tomography with clinical domains were examined within a subgroup. RESULTS: Sixty-two ATTR-CM patients were included (88.7% male, mean age 79 years). In total, 16.1% of patients had progress in the clinical and functional domain, 33.9% in the biomarker domain and 43.5% in the imaging/electrocardiography (ECG) domain, with the latter driven by deterioration of the diastolic dysfunction grade and global longitudinal strain. In total, 35.5% of patients showed progress in none, 35.5% in one, 29.0% in two and no patient in three domains, the latter indicating overall disease progression. A subgroup analysis of twenty-two patients with available baseline and follow-up CMR data revealed an increase in CMR-based extracellular volume by more than 5% in 18.2% of patients, with no significant correlation with progress in one of the clinical domains. CONCLUSIONS: We provide first frequency estimates of the markers of disease progression according to a recent expert consensus statement, which might help refine the multiparametric monitoring concept in patients with ATTR-CM.

Characterization of Severe Arterial Phase Respiratory Motion Artifact on Gadoxetate Disodium-Enhanced MRI - Assessment of Interrater Agreement and Reliability.

PURPOSE: To assess the interrater agreement and reliability of experienced abdominal radiologists in the characterization and grading of arterial phase gadoxetate disodium-related respiratory motion artifact on liver MRI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective multicenter study was initiated by the working group for abdominal imaging within the German Roentgen Society (DRG), and approved by the local IRB of each participating center. 11 board-certified radiologists independently reviewed 40 gadoxetate disodium-enhanced liver MRI datasets. Motion artifacts in the arterial phase were assessed on a 5-point scale. Interrater agreement and reliability were calculated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Kendall coefficient of concordance (W), with p < 0.05 deemed significant. RESULTS: The ICC for interrater agreement and reliability were 0.983 (CI 0.973 - 0.990) and 0.985 (CI 0.978 - 0.991), respectively (both p < 0.0001), indicating excellent agreement and reliability. Kendall's W for interrater agreement was 0.865. A severe motion artifact, defined as a mean motion score ≥ 4 in the arterial phase was observed in 12 patients. In these specific cases, a motion score ≥ 4 was assigned by all readers in 75 % (n = 9/12 cases). CONCLUSION: Differentiation and grading of arterial phase respiratory motion artifact is possible with a high level of inter-/intrarater agreement and interrater reliability, which is crucial for assessing the incidence of this phenomenon in larger multicenter studies. KEY POINTS: · Inter- and intrarater agreement for motion artifact scoring is excellent among experienced readers.. · Interrater reliability for motion artifact scoring is excellent among experienced readers.. · Characterization of severe motion artifacts proved feasible in this multicenter study.. CITATION FORMAT: · Ringe KI, Luetkens JA, Fimmers R et al. Characterization of Severe Arterial Phase Respiratory Motion Artifact on Gadoxetate Disodium-Enhanced MRI - Assessment of Interrater Agreement and Reliability. Fortschr Röntgenstr 2017; 190: 341 - 347.

MRI scanning in patients with new and existing CapSureFix Novus 5076 pacemaker leads: randomized trial results.

BACKGROUND: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be safely performed in patients with magnetic resonance (MR)-conditional pacemaker systems but remains relatively contraindicated with non-MR-conditional pacemaker systems. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety of MRI without positioning restrictions in patients with an MR-conditional pacemaker and currently a non-MR-conditional Medtronic CapSureFix Novus 5076 lead(s). METHODS: The study randomized 266 patients in a 2:1 ratio to the MRI group (177 patients) or to the control group (89 patients). At 9-12 weeks postimplant, the MRI group underwent MRI at 1.5 T. Primary end points were MRI-related complication-free rate and noninferiority of the MRI group compared to the control group with regard to the proportion of patients with an increase of ≤0.5 V in right atrial (RA) and right ventricular (RV) pacing capture thresholds from immediately before MRI to 1-month after MRI. RESULTS: No MRI-related complications occurred in 156 MRI-scanned patients who were followed through 1-month post-MRI. Differences in the proportion of patients with ≤0.5 V pacing capture threshold changes from pre-MRI to 1-month post-MRI were minimal between the groups for RA (proportions of 100% in both groups; a P value cannot be calculated) and RV leads (proportions of 99.3% in the MRI group and 100% in the control group; noninferiority test, P < .0001). Proportions of patients with acceptable sensing amplitude changes from pre-MRI to 1-month post-MRI were also similar between the 2 groups for RA and RV leads (noninferiority test, P < .0001 and P = .0004, respectively). No arrhythmias occurred during MRI. CONCLUSION: MRI scans can be performed safely without positioning restrictions in patients with Medtronic CapSureFix Novus 5076 leads connected to an MR-conditional pacemaker.