Comparison of exercise treadmill testing with cardiac computed tomography angiography among patients presenting to the emergency room with chest pain: the Rule Out Myocardial Infarction Using Computer-Assisted Tomography (ROMICAT) study.
BACKGROUND
The aims of our study were to (1) examine how data from exercise treadmill testing (ETT) can identify patients who have coronary plaque or stenosis, using CT angiography (CTA) as the reference standard, and (2) identify patient characteristics that may be used in selecting ETT versus CTA.


RESULTS
The Rule Out Myocardial Infarction Using Computer-Assisted Tomography (ROMICAT) trial was an observational cohort study of acute chest pain patients presenting to the emergency department with normal initial troponin and a nonischemic ECG. Univariate and multivariable analyses were performed to assess the relationship of baseline clinical data and ETT parameters with coronary plaque and stenosis on CTA. Of the 220 patients who had ETT (mean age, 51 years; 63% men), 21 (10%) had positive results. A positive ETT had a sensitivity of 30% and specificity of 93% to detect >50% stenosis. The sensitivity increased to 83% after excluding uninterpretable segments and evaluating the ability to detect a >70% stenosis. Predictors of plaque included older age, male sex, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, lower functional capacity, and a lower Duke Treadmill Score. Both a positive ETT and a low Duke Treadmill Score were significant univariate and multivariable predictors of stenosis >50% on CTA Whereas the prevalence of stenosis by CTA was greater among patients with more risk factors, coronary stenosis was not present among men <40 years old or women <50 years old or individuals who achieved at least 13 metabolic equivalents on ETT.


CONCLUSIONS
Among low- to intermediate-risk patients with acute chest pain, a positive ETT has a limited sensitivity but high specificity for the detection of >50% stenosis by CTA. Although patients with a high number of clinical risk factors are more likely to have obstructive coronary artery disease, those who are young or who would be expected to have a very high exercise capacity are unlikely to have coronary stenosis and therefore may benefit from initial ETT testing instead of CTA.
Department of Medicine (Cardiovascular Division) and Radiology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. rblankstein@parters.org
Ron
R
Blankstein
Waleed
W
Ahmed
Fabian
F
Bamberg
Ian S
IS
Rogers
Christopher Lothar
CL
Schlett
Khurram
K
Nasir
Joao
J
Fontes
Ahmed
A
Tawakol
Thomas J
TJ
Brady
John T
JT
Nagurney
Udo
U
Hoffmann
Quynh A
QA
Truong
D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001900:Boston; D002637:Chest Pain / Q000097:blood / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004562:Electrocardiography; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000097:blood / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014336:Troponin / Q000097:blood
D015415:Biomarkers; D014336:Troponin