Comparison of dipyridamole-echocardiography with dipyridamole-thallium scintigraphy for the diagnosis of myocardial ischemia.
After an intravenous infusion of dipyridamole (0.56 mg/kg), we performed both echocardiography and thallium scintigraphy in 63 patients who were referred for known or suspected coronary artery disease. Of those patients, 25 returned for coronary arteriography within 1 month after the tests, thus forming the study group for this report. Sensitivity for detection of coronary artery disease, when analyzed region-by-region, was 80% for thallium scintigraphy and 57% for echocardiography, whereas specificity was 85% and 98%, respectively. When evaluating individual patients for the presence or absence of ischemia, we found a sensitivity of 95% for scintigraphy and 58% for echocardiography; corresponding specificities were 50% and 100%. By using arteriography as the gold standard for comparison, it appears that thallium scintigraphy has a significantly higher sensitivity but lower specificity for the detection of coronary artery disease than does echocardiography. Echocardiography may, however, be a useful adjunct to thallium scintigraphy in the evaluation of patients with coronary artery disease.
Perin
E C
EC
St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital/Texas Heart Institute, Houston 77030.
Moore
W
W
Blume
M
M
Hernandez
G
G
Dhekne
R
R
DeCastro
C M
CM
D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004176:Dipyridamole; D004452:Echocardiography; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013794:Thallium Radioisotopes
D013794:Thallium Radioisotopes; D004176:Dipyridamole