[The clinical application of coronary artery calcification score with 64-slice MDCT in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease].
OBJECTIVE
To study the clinical value of coronary artery calcification score with 64-slice MDCT in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD).


METHODS
96 subjects including 49 with confirmed CAD (CAD group) and 47 asymptomatic people as control group were recruited between May 2006 and December 2006 by the department of radiology in our hospital. The selective coronary angiography was also performed in 30 subjects including 25 with CAD and 5 asymptomatic people and subsequently divided into three groups (< 50%, 50%-75% and > 75% of maximum degree of vessel occlusion). We investigated the correlation of calcification score (CS) and the maximum degree of vessel occlusion measured by coronary angiography were investigated.


RESULTS
The larger CS and more numbers of regions of interest of calcification in the right coronary artery and left anterior descending artery in 96 subjects were observed. The total mean CS of CAD (462 +/- 314) was higher than that of control group (83 +/- 52) (P < 0.001). There was a moderate correlation between degree of vessel stenosis and CS for individual vessels in patients with positive calcium scan(r = 0. 445, P < 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
Although CS measured by MDCT is not an accurate marker of the degree of vessel stenosis in CAD, it can be applied as a screening tool for high risk CAD patients and could greatly reduce the expense on coronary angiography.
Ma
En-Sen
ES
Department of Radiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
Yang
Zhi-Gang
ZG
Yu
Jian-Quan
JQ
Li
Yuan
Y
Bai
Hong-Li
HL
Li
Zhen-Lin
ZL
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*