title: [Volumetric measurement of pericardial and intrathoracic adipose tissues using coronary computed tomography angiography in patients with coronary heart disease].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the feasibility of volumetric measurement of pericardial adipose tissue (PAT) and intrathoracic adipose tissue (IAT) using coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA), and explore the characteristics of PAT and IAT distribution.
  
  
  METHODS
  The CTA images of 109 patients (aged 59.1∓11.7 years) with a clinical diagnosis of coronary heart disease were analyzed. The volumes of PAT and IAT were measured using the axial data from the base to the apex traced manually with the dedicated semiautomatic software program Volume. The related factors and gender difference of PAT and IAT were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The pericardium was clearly defined on CTA images and the volumes of PAT and IAT were measured accurately in all the cases. The volumes of PAT and IAT were positively correlated to body weight and body mass index (BMI) but independent of age, and IAT was positive correlated to the body height. The IAT of male patients was 67% higher than that of female patients (P<0.05), whereas no such a difference was found in PAT (P<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CTA-based semiautomatic segmentation for volumetric quantification of PAT and IAT is highly accurate. The volumes of PAT and IAT are positively correlated to body weight and BMI, and PAT volume exhibits no statistical difference between male and female patients with coronary heart disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, General Hospital of PLA, Beijing 100853, China. wujian621@sohu.com
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: WU
authors.forename: Xing-hua
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: ZHANG
authors.forename: Hai-yue
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: JU
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: ZHANG
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: YANG
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010496:Pericardium / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*