Independent validation of ATE score diagnostic accuracy for predicting the absence of intra-atrial thrombi before catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation

The purpose of the data collection was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of the ATE score for exclusion of intra-atrial thrombi before catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation. Demographics, clinical, biological, procedural, and score data were collected. Categorical data were used for gender, clinical history, clinical condition, procedural data, and diagnostic of intra-atrial thrombus. Continuous data were used for age, d-Dimer level, CHADS2, CHA2DS2VASc, and ATE Score. The primary outcome was the number of patients with atrial thrombus and a zero ATE score at most 48 hours before ablation. The secondary outcomes were 1) the number of patients with atrial thrombus among patients with a zero CHADS2VASC score at most 48 hours before ablation, 2) the number of patients with atrial thrombus among patients with a zero CHADS2 score. In this dataset, transesophageal echography detected 29 atrial thrombi in a population of 3,072 patients (incidence rate 0.94% [95%CI 0.63-1.35]). Considering a zero ATE score as a negative result, the negative predictive value was 99.8%.