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ABSTRACT: Objectives
This study has been conducted to investigate the non-invasive diagnostic journey of patients with a transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (aTTR-CM) in Turkey, identify the challenges and uncertainties encountered on the path to diagnosis from the perspectives of expert physicians, and develop recommendations that can be applied in such cases.Methods
This study employed a three-round modified Delphi method and included 10 cardiologists and five nuclear medicine specialists. Two hematologists also shared their expert opinions on the survey results related to hematological tests during a final face-to-face discussion. A consensus was reached when 80% or more of the panel members marked the "agree/strongly agree" or "disagree/strongly disagree" option.Results
The panelists unanimously agreed that the aTTR-CM diagnosis could be established through scintigraphy (using either 99mTc-PYP, 99mTc-DPD, or 99mTc-HMPD) in a patient with suspected cardiac amyloidosis (CA) without a further investigation if AL amyloidosis is ruled out (by sFLC, SPIE and UPIE). In addition, scintigraphy imaging performed by SPECT or SPECT-CT should reveal a myocardial uptake of Grade ≥2 with a heart-to-contralateral (H/CL) ratio of ≥1.5. The cardiology panelists recommended using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) and a detailed echocardiographic scoring as a last resort before considering an endomyocardial biopsy in patients with suspected CA whose scintigraphy results were discordant/inconclusive or negative but still carried a high clinical suspicion of aTTR-CM.Conclusion
The diagnostic approach for aTTR-CM should be customized based on the availability of diagnostic tools/methods in each expert clinic to achieve a timely and definitive diagnosis.
SUBMITTER: Cavusoglu Y
PROVIDER: S-EPMC10851939 | biostudies-literature | 2024
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Çavuşoğlu Yüksel Y Başarıcı İbrahim İ Tüfekçioğlu Omaç O Özpelit Ebru E Özdemir Elif E Sivrikoz İlknur Ak İA Altay Hakan H Değertekin Muzaffer M Dinçer İrem İ İkitimur Barış B Kahveci Gökhan G Bozkurt Murat Fani MF Erkılıç Metin M Kaya Gamze Çapa GÇ Beksaç Meral M Salihoğlu Ayşe A Tokgözoğlu Lale L
Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine 20240125
<h4>Objectives</h4>This study has been conducted to investigate the non-invasive diagnostic journey of patients with a transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (aTTR-CM) in Turkey, identify the challenges and uncertainties encountered on the path to diagnosis from the perspectives of expert physicians, and develop recommendations that can be applied in such cases.<h4>Methods</h4>This study employed a three-round modified Delphi method and included 10 cardiologists and five nuclear medicine specialis ...[more]