Does cardiac SPECT using attenuation and scatter correction accurately predict coronary artery disease in a minority women population?
BACKGROUND
Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) is a well-established diagnostic method for evaluation and risk stratification of coronary artery disease (CAD). We undertook this study to validate both the positive predictive value (when compared to cardiac catheterization) and the prognosis afforded by MPI in a group of minority women patients.


METHODS
The database of our Nuclear Imaging and Catheterization Laboratory was retrospectively queried for consecutive minority (African-American, Hispanic and Asian) women patients who underwent MPI and cardiac catheterization within 90 days of each other. Patients with recent revascularization were excluded. Attenuation/scatter correction was utilized in the final interpretation of the study.


RESULTS
Of the 54 women patients who underwent MPI, 7 underwent exercise stress testing, 26 had stress testing with adenosine, 18 with dipyridamole and 3 with dobutamine. Eighteen patients (53%) had same number of vessels predicted by MPI and coronary angiography (7 patients with triple vessel disease, 7 with 2-vessel disease and 4 with single vessel disease). Five (3 with intermediate and 2 with high risk scans) out of the 54 patients (9.3%) were dead at 2 years. The sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value of MPI as compared to angiography were 87.2%, 26.7%, 75.6% and 44.4% respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
The sensitivity of MPI in this group of patients is comparable to the general population though the specificity is lower in spite of using attenuation and scatter correction. Low risk perfusion scan signifies favorable prognosis at 2 years with regards to mortality.
Vashist
Aseem
A
Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510-3206, USA. aseem.vashist@yale.edu
Collins
Dorothea
D
Prasad
Yogendra
Y
Blum
Steve
S
Heller
Eliot N
EN
D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D000792:Angiography; D001213:Asian; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000473:pathology; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / Q000379:methods*