title: Left ventricular cavity-to-myocardium count ratio in technetium-99m-sestamibi SPECT in the detection of resting left ventricular dysfunction.
abstract: The aim of this study was to assess the value of the cavity-to-myocardium count ratio (C/M ratio) calculated in resting 99mTc-sestamibi SPECT images to identify patients with depressed left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).
  
  
  METHODS
  In the 95 patients studied, the C/M ratio was calculated from the midventricular short-axis slice using regions of interest drawn in the center of the cavity and in the most active area of the ventricular wall; its value was compared with LVEF measured using two-dimensional echocardiography.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The C/M ratio correlated with LVEF (r = 0.6, p < 0.000001) and was significantly lower in patients with abnormal LVEF than those with normal LVEF: 0.026 +/- 0.028 versus 0.125 +/- 0.093, p < 0.000001. In the entire patient population, a C/M ratio < 0.07 identified the patients with depressed LVEF with a 94% sensitivity, 71% specificity and 82% accuracy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The resting 99mTc-sestamibi C/M ratio is a useful parameter in identifying patients with depressed LVEF directly from the SPECT perfusion images.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pathophysiology, University of Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sciagrà
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bisi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Buonamici
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zerauschek
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Santoro
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Meldolesi
authors.forename: P F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Fazzini
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pupi
mesh_terms: D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012372:ROC Curve; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013318:Stroke Volume / Q000502:physiology; D017256:Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D017256:Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi