title: Detection of coronary artery stenoses by low-dose, prospectively ECG-triggered, high-pitch spiral coronary CT angiography.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We sought to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of a new prospectively electrocardiogram (ECG)-triggered high-pitch scan mode for coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA), which allows an effective dose of less than 1 mSv.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Coronary CTA provides increasingly reliable image quality, but the associated radiation exposure can be high.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-five patients with suspected coronary artery disease and in sinus rhythm were screened for participation. After exclusion of 25 patients for body weight >100 kg or failure to lower heart rate to ≤ 60 beats/min, 50 patients were studied by prospectively ECG-triggered high-pitch spiral computed tomography (CT). Coronary CTA was performed using a dual-source CT system with 2 × 128 × 0.6-mm collimation, 0.28-s rotation time, a pitch of 3.4, 100-kVp tube voltage, and current of 320 mA. Data acquisition was prospectively triggered at 60% of the R-R interval and completed within 1 cardiac cycle. Diagnostic accuracy for detection of coronary artery stenoses ≥ 50% diameter stenosis was determined by comparison to invasive coronary angiography. Per-patient diagnostic performance was the primary form of analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all 50 patients (34 males, 59 ± 12 years of age), imaging was successful. For the detection of 16 patients with at least 1 coronary artery stenosis, CT demonstrated a sensitivity of 100% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 79% to 100%) and specificity of 82% (95% CI: 65% to 93%). The positive predictive value was 72% (95% CI: 49% to 89%) and the negative predictive value was 100% (95% CI: 87% to 100%). Sensitivity was 100% (95% CI: 88% to 100%) and specificity was 94% (95% CI: 89% to 97%) on a per-vessel basis. Per-segment sensitivity was 92% (95% CI: 80% to 97%), and specificity was 98% (95% CI: 96% to 98%). Mean dose-length product for coronary CTA was 54 ± 6 mGy · cm, the effective dose was 0.76 ± 0.08 mSv (0.64 to 0.95 mSv).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In nonobese patients with a low and stable heart rate, prospectively ECG-triggered high-pitch spiral coronary CTA provides high diagnostic accuracy for the detection of coronary artery stenoses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, University of Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany. stephan.achenbach@uk-erlangen.de
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Achenbach
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Goroll
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Seltmann
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pflederer
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Anders
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ropers
authors.forename: Werner G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Daniel
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Uder
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lell
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marwan
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001835:Body Weight; D055424:Cardiac-Gated Imaging Techniques; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D023921:Coronary Stenosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D036542:Tomography, Spiral Computed