title: Significance of coronary artery calcification score (CACS) for the detection of coronary artery disease (CAD) in chronic dialysis patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a principal cause of death in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The coronary artery calcification score (CACS), determined by electron-beam computed tomography (EBCT), is useful for the detection of CAD in non-ESRD patients. There are few reports on the usefulness of EBCT for the detection of CAD, however, in ESRD patients. We examined the relation between CACS and CAD in ESRD patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Coronary angiography (CAG) was used to diagnose CAD in patients with significant coronary artery stenosis (>or=50%). We examined 76 ESRD patients on chronic dialysis therapy from 1997 to 2005, of which 51 are men, 25 are women, mean (S.D.) age of 57.9 (12.1) years and mean (S.D.) HD duration of 7.7 (6.6) years. There were 50 (35 men, 15 women) patients with CAD and 26 (16 men, 10 women) without CAD.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median CACS was 1290 in all patients, 1689 in the CAD group and 527 in the non-CAD group; the mean (S.D.) CACS was 1833 (2003) in all patients, 2338 (2209) in the CAD group and 861 (991) in the non-CAD group. CACS was significantly higher in the CAD group than in the non-CAD group. The CACS cutoff values for predicting CAD were calculated at intervals of 100. At the cutoff values of >or=100, >or=500, >or=1000, >or=2000, and >or=3000, the sensitivity was 98%, 90%, 68%, 42%, and 32% and the specificity was 35%, 50%, 69%, 85%, and 96%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  EBCT is not adequate for screening asymptomatic ESRD patients. Because EBCT is less invasive than CAG, further study is necessary to determine whether CAG should be performed in all high-risk ESRD patients on chronic dialysis.
authors.affiliation: Tokuyama Clinic, and Dialysis Unit, University Hospital of the Ryukyus, Japan. n-fuji@tokuyama.or.jp
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fujimoto
authors.forename: Kunitoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iseki
authors.forename: Kiyoyuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tokuyama
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tamashiro
authors.forename: Shuichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takishita
mesh_terms: D002114:Calcinosis / Q000473:pathology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity