SCCT shares updated guidance on CT use during TAVI, TAVR procedures

The Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) has issued an updated guidance for the use of CT in transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures. The full document can be read in the Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography.

“The 2019 consensus statement represents a contemporary assessment of the role of computed tomography (CT) imaging that will serve as important guidance to a field that has seen rapid growth over the last six years,” co-author Jonathon A. Leipsic, MD, of the University of British Columbia, said in a prepared statement. “This guidance will in turn help ensure the appropriate use of CT to help inform clinical practice and continue to drive improvements in clinical outcomes for the patients we serve.”

A team of 11 experts wrote the recommendations. When fewer than six of the authors agreed with a proposed recommendation, it was not included in the guidance.

The updated guidance includes recommendations for CT acquisition prior to TAVI and TAVR procedures and for the sizing and reporting of the patient’s aortic valve, annulus and outflow tract. It also includes recommendations related to the reporting of fluoroscopic angulation, vascular access, coronary artery and non-cardiac, non-vascular findings, among other things.