[Coronary artery calcium quantification with non-ECG-gated low-radiation dose CT of the chest].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the feasibility of quantifying coronary artery calcification in low-radiation dose chest CT (LDCT) studies performed in an early lung cancer detection program by comparing the results of this technique with those of dedicated retrospectively ECG-gated cardiac CT.


METHODS
After obtaining informed consent, we evaluated the CT studies of 48 consecutive asymptomatic smokers (44 male, 4 female; mean age 59.7 years) included in an early lung cancer detection trial who underwent multislice LDCT (Volume Zoom, Siemens) of the chest and a retrospectively ECG-gated cardiac CT specifically dedicated to quantifying coronary artery calcification. LDCT examinations were reconstructed to reproduce cardiac CT parameters. Coronary calcium values were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) was calculated to determine the agreement between the two methods.


RESULTS
Coronary calcium values ranged from 0 to 1,908.4 (median: 89.6; IQR: 3.2; 227.4) in LDCT exams and from 0 to 1,486.6 (median: 81.3; IQR: 2.5; 316.4) in cardiac CT studies. No statistically significant difference was observed in the estimation of total coronary calcium score (p=0.28). The concordance between the two techniques was excellent (CCC > or = 0.81).


CONCLUSIONS
The LDCT study performed in lung cancer early detection trials enables coronary artery calcification to be quantified with the same accuracy as the dedicated retrospectively ECG-gated cardiac CT examination.
Bastarrika
G
G
Servicio de Radiología, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, España. bastarrika@unav.es
Alonso
A
A
Saiz-Mendiguren
R
R
Arias
J
J
Cosín
O
O
D002114:Calcinosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*