3.4 Adverse events
One patient in TEE group had an ischemic stroke 2 days after the procedure. Severe stenosis basilar artery was found as the cause of the stroke event. One patient in TEE group who received combined procedure developed delayed pericardial effusion, requiring pericardiocentesis at 18th day after the operation. Minor complication including a pseudoaneurysm at left femoral puncture site in 1 patient with combined treatment in ICE group. No other serious complication was observed during 2 months follow-up.
Discussion
4.1 Main findings
This study is the first to our knowledge to demonstrate the safety and feasibility of a systematic ICE protocol (“FLAVOR” approach) in achieving consistent, high quality, multi-planar echocardiographic imaging for guiding LAAC under local anesthesia. This novel approach did not compromise patients’ peri-procedural and short-term outcomes and it collected better comprehensive multi-angled imaging information than TEE with additional advantages of less radiation and contrast use.