Background: There are numerous studies that address the diagnostic value of dual-source computed tomography (DSCT) as an alternative to conventional coronary angiography (CCA). However, the benefit of application of DSCT in a real world clinical setting should be evaluated.
Objectives: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of DSCT technique compared with CCA as the gold standard method in detection of coronary artery stenosis among symptomatic patients who are presented to a referral cardiovascular center during daily clinical practice.
Patients and methods: Evaluating the medical records of a tertiary care referral cardiovascular center, 47 patients who had undergone DSCT and CCA, and also met the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study were selected. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and likelihood ratios (LRs) of the DSCT imaging technique were calculated.
Results: In total, 97.8% of the segments (628/642) could be visualized with diagnostic image quality via DSCT coronary angiography. The mean heart rate during DSCT was 69.2 ± 12.2 bpm (range: 39 - 83 bpm), and the mean Agatston score was 507.7 ± 590.5 (range: 0 - 2328). Per segment analysis of the findings revealed that the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, positive LR (PLR) and negative LR (NLR) of DSCT technique for evaluation of patients with coronary artery disease were 93.7%, 96.8%, 92.7%, 97.2%, 29.4, and 0.066, respectively. Also per vessel, analysis of the findings showed a sensitivity of 97.1%, a specificity of 94.0%, PPV of 95.3%, NPV of 96.3%, PLR of 16.1, and NLR of 0.030.
Conclusion: Our results indicate that DSCT coronary angiography provides high diagnostic accuracy for the evaluation of CAD patients during daily routine practice of a referral cardiovascular setting.
Keywords: Atherosclerosis; Cardiac Imaging Techniques; Coronary Angiography; Multidetector Computed Tomography.