title: Do stents interfere with the densitometric assessment of a coronary artery lesion?
abstract: This in vitro study was designed to assess the contribution of three currently investigated coronary stents to the densitometric measurement of a known stenosis contained within two different sized plexiglass phantoms. These studies were performed at two concentrations of the contrast agent iopamidol (50 and 100%). The calculated minimal luminal cross-sectional area values in the control phantom ranged from 0-18% higher than the theoretical values. Insertion of a stainless steel stent (Wallstent, Schneider, Zürich or Palmaz-Schatz, Johnson and Johnson, Warren, NJ) resulted in further minor increases (less than or equal to 8% in the calculated minimal luminal cross-sectional area, except in the smaller phantom filled with 50% contrast medium. The Wiktor (tantalum) stent (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN) had the largest impact of the three stents depending on the concentration of iopamidol (100% contrast medium: 9-13% values above control; 50% contrast medium; 23-56% higher). We conclude that although densitometry may overestimate the minimal luminal cross-sectional area in stented vessels, this effect is usually minor with stainless steel stents. However, tantalum-containing stents may result in serious overestimation of lesion area, particularly if contrast is diluted or the vessel is not well filled.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Thoraxcenter, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: B H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Strauss
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Rensing
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: den Boer
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: van der Giessen
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Reiber
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Serruys
mesh_terms: D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology; D003720:Densitometry; D008961:Models, Structural; D015607:Stents