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Updated: Sep 27, 2025

Cardiac Magnetic Resonance for the Evaluation of Suspected Cardiac Thrombus: Conventional and Emerging Techniques
Published on: June 11, 2019
Thrombus characteristics evaluated by acute optical coherence tomography in ST elevation myocardial Infarction
Erlend Eriksen1,2, Jon Herstad1, Kartika Ratna Pertiwi3
1Department of Heart Disease, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.
Aims:
ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is caused by an occlusive thrombosis of a coronary artery. We wanted to assess if the thrombus can be characterized according to erythrocyte content and age using intravascular optical coherence tomography (OCT) in a clinical setting.
Methods And Results:
We performed manual thrombus aspiration in 66 STEMI patients. OCT was done of the thrombus remnants after aspiration. A light intensity ratio was measured through the thrombus. Forty two of the aspirates had thrombus which could be analyzed histomorphologically for analysis of erythrocyte and platelet content, and to determine the age of thrombus as fresh, lytic or organized. There were 11 red, 21 white and 10 mixed thrombi. Furthermore, 36 aspirates had elements of fresh, 7 of lytic and 8 of organized thrombi. There was no correlation between colour and age. OCT appearance could not predict erythrocyte or platelet content. The light intensity ratios were not significantly different in fresh, lytic or organized thrombi.
Conclusion:
OCT could not differentiate between red and white thrombi, nor determine thrombus age.
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