Abstract 12012: Relation Between Colchicine and Epicardial Adipose Tissue Volume Surrounding Left Atrium in Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence After Ablation

Background: Immediate recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) after AF ablation was related with inflammatory process. Colchicine treatment after AF ablation can reduce AF recurrence by suppression of such inflammatory reactions. The epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) has been shown to release activated pro-inflammatory cytokines and to associate with the development of AF. However, it is unclear whether colchicine treatment affects recurrence of AF according to EAT volume of left atrium (LA-EAT volume). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relation between reduction of AF recurrence by colchicine treatment after AF ablation and LA-EAT volume. Methods: One hundred twenty two consecutive AF patients who underwent AF ablation and in whom multi-detector computed tomography was performed before ablation were included. Colchicine was prescribed to patients who approved colchicine treatment and was started at 0.5 mg/day for 2 weeks after AF ablation. We divided the study patients into larger LA-EAT group and smaller LA-EAT group according to the median (22.4 cm3) of LA-EAT volume. LA-EAT volume was obtained by semi-automatically tracing axial images from the bifurcation of the pulmonary artery to the coronary sinus and EAT was recognized using threshold attenuation values of -50 to -200 HU. In each group, we compared incidences of AF recurrence (AF > 30 sec) in 3 months and 12 months after ablation between colchicine group and non-colchicine group. Results: Forty-two patients received colchicine. In larger LA-EAT group (> 22.4 cm3) (n=60) incidence of AF recurrence in colchicine group showed lower tendency in 12 months after ablation (10.5% vs. 34.2%, p=0.06) while in smaller LA-EAT group (< 22.4 cm3) (n=62), incidence of AF recurrence was similar between colchicine group and non-colchicine group (Table). Conclusion: Colchicine treatment after AF ablation may reduce mid-term AF recurrence in AF patients with larger LA-EAT volume.