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.