Multidetector-row spiral CT for detection of coronary artery stenosis

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of multidetector-row spiral CT (MDCT) in the detection of coronary artery stenosis. Methods: Sixty-five consecutive patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) underwent the retrospectively ECG-gated MDCT angiography for visualization of coronary artery lumen changes, and 32 of them were also investigated with selective coronary angiography (SCA). The images quality of MDCTA was analyzed. Presence and percentage of stenosis in coronary artery segments were determined. Results of determination of >50% stenosis of the vessel diameter with MDCTA were compared to the findings of SCA. Results: With MDCT angiography significant better image quality was achieved in patients with a heart rate below 70 beats per minute (W = 539, P<0.0001). When compared with SCA, the sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, and accuracy for the detection of >50% stenosis with MDCTA were 95%, 80%, 89% and 90%, respectively. Conclusion: Even if its effective exposure time of 250 ms is limited by faster heart rates, MDCT is capable of achieving high image quality and high accuracy for detection of coronary artery stenosis