Diagnostic accuracy of rubidium-82 myocardial perfusion imaging with hybrid positron emission tomography/computed tomography in the detection of coronary artery disease.
OBJECTIVE
Our objective was to determine the accuracy of rubidium-82 myocardial perfusion positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) imaging for detecting obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD).


BACKGROUND
Hybrid PET-CT is a new noninvasive imaging modality for evaluating patients with known or suspected CAD.


METHODS
We evaluated 64 consecutive patients with suspected CAD undergoing rest-stress rubidium-82 cardiac PET-CT (CT was only used for attenuation correction) and coronary angiography within 7 days (range 1 to 180 days). Patients with known CAD, previous myocardial infarction, or revascularization were excluded. Thirty-eight patients with a low likelihood for CAD were also studied. Obstructive CAD was defined as > or =70% diameter stenosis on angiography.


RESULTS
The mean age of the patients was 62 +/- 15 years, with a body mass index of 31 +/- 8 kg/m2. Chest pain and/or dyspnea were the predominant reasons for evaluation. Stress perfusion defects were detected in 41 of 44 patients with obstructive CAD (sensitivity 93%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 87 to 99). The specificity of PET-CT was 83% (48 of 58, 95% CI 71 to 91), and its overall diagnostic accuracy was 87% (95% CI 79 to 93). All patients with a low likelihood for CAD showed normal scans, for a normalcy rate of 100% (38 of 38, 95% CI 91 to 100). The sensitivity for detecting CAD in patients with single and multivessel (> or =2 vessels) disease was 92% (22 of 24, 95% CI 74 to 99) and 95% (19 of 20, 95% CI 74 to 99), respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Myocardial perfusion PET-CT affords high sensitivity and overall accuracy for detecting CAD, including patients with single-vessel disease, women, and obese patients.
Sampson
Uchechukwu K
UK
Divisions of Nuclear Medicine and Cardiovascular Imaging, Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Dorbala
Sharmila
S
Limaye
Atul
A
Kwong
Raymond
R
Di Carli
Marcelo F
MF
D000368:Aged; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D023921:Coronary Stenosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012414:Rubidium Radioisotopes; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
D012414:Rubidium Radioisotopes