title: Cardiac positron emission tomography/computed tomography imaging accurately detects anatomically and functionally significant coronary artery disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Computed tomography (CT) is increasingly used to detect coronary artery disease, but the evaluation of stenoses is often uncertain. Perfusion imaging has an established role in detecting ischemia and guiding therapy. Hybrid positron emission tomography (PET)/CT allows combination angiography and perfusion imaging in short, quantitative, low-radiation-dose protocols.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We enrolled 107 patients with an intermediate (30% to 70%) pretest likelihood of coronary artery disease. All patients underwent PET/CT (quantitative PET with (15)O-water and CT angiography), and the results were compared with the gold standard, invasive angiography, including measurement of fractional flow reserve when appropriate. Although PET and CT angiography alone both demonstrated 97% negative predictive value, CT angiography alone was suboptimal in assessing the severity of stenosis (positive predictive value, 81%). Perfusion imaging alone could not always separate microvascular disease from epicardial stenoses, but hybrid PET/CT significantly improved this accuracy to 98%. The radiation dose of the combined PET and CT protocols was 9.3 mSv (86 patients) with prospective triggering and 21.8 mSv (21 patients) with spiral CT.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cardiac hybrid PET/CT imaging allows accurate noninvasive detection of coronary artery disease in a symptomatic population. The method is feasible and can be performed routinely with <10 mSv in most patients.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00627172.
authors.affiliation: Turku PET Centre, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kajander
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Joutsiniemi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saraste
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pietilä
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ukkonen
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saraste
authors.forename: H T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Sipilä
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Teräs
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mäki
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Airaksinen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hartiala
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Knuuti
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000592:standards; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000592:standards*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000592:standards*