title: Triple rule-out cardiac computed tomography: is it finally a reality?
abstract: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS), pulmonary embolism and acute aortic syndrome are the most common causes of life threatening chest pain. The triple rule-out CT (TRO CT) has emerged as a technology that can simultaneously visualize the coronary arteries, aorta and pulmonary arteries as well as other intrathoracic structures. It has been proposed as a one-stop imaging modality in patients who present to the emergency department with low to intermediate risk of ACS in whom pulmonary embolism and/or acute aortic syndrome are also considered. This review focuses on the TRO CT imaging technique, image quality, radiation dose, diagnostic accuracy, yield, efficiency and cost through a series of frequently asked questions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, University of Ottawa, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Regina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: de la Mora Cervantes
authors.affiliation: Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada - cdennie@toh.ca.
authors.forename: Carole
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dennie
mesh_terms: D054058:Acute Coronary Syndrome / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000208:Acute Disease; D001011:Aorta / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001018:Aortic Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002637:Chest Pain / Q000209:etiology; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D006801:Humans; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D013577:Syndrome; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*