title: Assessment of myocardial enhancement during coronary CT angiography in critically ill patients.
abstract: There are still challenges and unmet needs for the imaging techniques, such as conditions of uncertain origin in patients with clinically serious, life-threatening conditions with unknown cause that are not associated with dominant chest pain, ECG changes or other symptoms indicating a possible primarily cardiac or coronary cause. The contribution of the myocardial enhancement evaluation of urgent cardiac CTA scans significantly improves to determining the diagnosis of acute myocardial injury and choosing appropriate treatment. When incorporating the myocardial enhancement assessment into the imaging algorithm of an emergency department, emphasis is placed on a uniform imaging procedure and a uniform evaluation approach. The color coded images of the myocardial enhancement in emergency situations helps identify the most serious pathologies and shorten the time to adequate targeted therapy in patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Imaging Methods, Faculty of Medicine and University Teaching Hospital in Pilsen, Alej Svobody 80, 304 60 Plzeň, Czech Republic; Biomedical Centre, Faculty of Medicine in Plzen, Charles University in Prague, Alej Svobody 76, 304 60 Plzeň, Czech Republic. Electronic address: mirka@fnplzen.cz.
authors.forename: Hynek
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mírka
authors.affiliation: Department of Imaging Methods, Faculty of Medicine and University Teaching Hospital in Pilsen, Alej Svobody 80, 304 60 Plzeň, Czech Republic. Electronic address: ferda@fnplzen.cz.
authors.forename: Jiří
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ferda
authors.affiliation: Department of Imaging Methods, Faculty of Medicine and University Teaching Hospital in Pilsen, Alej Svobody 80, 304 60 Plzeň, Czech Republic. Electronic address: baxaj@fnplzen.cz.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Baxa
mesh_terms: D000072226:Computed Tomography Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D003287:Contrast Media; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D016638:Critical Illness; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D006321:Heart / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media
keywords: Coronary CT angiography; Critically ill patient; Myocardium enhancement