2-1 Study population
In this retrospective study, all patients admitted with mechanical TV dysfunction in our center from February 2006 through December 2017 were identified and reviewed in a single-center manner in Tehran, Iran. The informed consent was not obtained from patients, and the study protocol was approved by the local ethics committee of our institution. Any episode of mechanical TV thrombosis was enrolled into the study. The suspected cases of prosthetic valve infective endocarditis were excluded. If a patient was readmitted at a different time with recurrent TV thrombosis, it was considered as a recurrent event. All clinical and echocardiographic features were collected. Anticoagulation status at the time of admission and through six months before index event was recorded based on the amount of international normalized ratio (INR). The aims of study included (1) to evaluate the response to therapy in patients with mechanical TV thrombosis in different treatment groups and also to assess the adverse events during admission and follow-up period, (2) to identify how echocardiographic and fluoroscopic examinations could help as a diagnostic tool to guide therapy.