TY - JOUR
T1 - Predictors of image quality of coronary computed tomography in the acute care setting of patients with chest pain
AU - Bamberg, Fabian
AU - Abbara, Suhny
AU - Schlett, Christopher L.
AU - Cury, Ricardo C.
AU - Truong, Quynh A.
AU - Rogers, Ian S.
AU - Nagurney, John T.
AU - Brady, Thomas J.
AU - Hoffmann, Udo
N1 - Funding Information:
The study was supported by Grant No. R01 HL080053 from the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; General Electric Healthcare, Waukesha, Wisconsin; and Siemens Medical Solutions, Forchheim, Germany.
PY - 2010/4
Y1 - 2010/4
N2 - Objective: We aimed to determine predictors of image quality in consecutive patients who underwent coronary computed tomography (CT) for the evaluation of acute chest pain. Method and materials: We prospectively enrolled patients who presented with chest pain to the emergency department. All subjects underwent contrast-enhanced 64-slice coronary multi-detector CT. Two experienced readers determined overall image quality on a per-patient basis and the prevalence and characteristics of non-evaluable coronary segments on a per-segment basis. Results: Among 378 subjects (143 women, age: 52.9 ± 11.8 years), 345 (91%) had acceptable overall image quality, while 33 (9%) had poor image quality or were unreadable. In adjusted analysis, patients with diabetes, hypertension and a higher heart rate during the scan were more likely to have exams graded as poor or unreadable (odds ratio [OR]: 2.94, p = 0.02; OR: 2.62, p = 0.03; OR: 1.43, p = 0.02; respectively). Of 6253 coronary segments, 257 (4%) were non-evaluable, most due to severe calcification in combination with motion (35%). The presence of non-evaluable coronary segments was associated with age (OR: 1.08 annually, 95%-confidence interval [CI]: 1.05-1.12, p < 0.001), baseline heart rate (OR: 1.35 per 10 beats/min, 95%-CI: 1.11-1.67, p = 0.003), diabetes, hypertension, and history of coronary artery disease (OR: 4.43, 95%-CI: 1.93-10.17, p < 0.001; OR: 2.27, 95-CI: 1.01-4.73, p = 0.03; OR: 5.12, 95%-CI: 2.0-13.06, p < 0.001; respectively). Conclusion: Coronary CT permits acceptable image quality in more than 90% of patients with chest pain. Patients with multiple risk factors are more likely to have impaired image quality or non-evaluable coronary segments. These patients may require careful patient preparation and optimization of CT scanning protocols.
AB - Objective: We aimed to determine predictors of image quality in consecutive patients who underwent coronary computed tomography (CT) for the evaluation of acute chest pain. Method and materials: We prospectively enrolled patients who presented with chest pain to the emergency department. All subjects underwent contrast-enhanced 64-slice coronary multi-detector CT. Two experienced readers determined overall image quality on a per-patient basis and the prevalence and characteristics of non-evaluable coronary segments on a per-segment basis. Results: Among 378 subjects (143 women, age: 52.9 ± 11.8 years), 345 (91%) had acceptable overall image quality, while 33 (9%) had poor image quality or were unreadable. In adjusted analysis, patients with diabetes, hypertension and a higher heart rate during the scan were more likely to have exams graded as poor or unreadable (odds ratio [OR]: 2.94, p = 0.02; OR: 2.62, p = 0.03; OR: 1.43, p = 0.02; respectively). Of 6253 coronary segments, 257 (4%) were non-evaluable, most due to severe calcification in combination with motion (35%). The presence of non-evaluable coronary segments was associated with age (OR: 1.08 annually, 95%-confidence interval [CI]: 1.05-1.12, p < 0.001), baseline heart rate (OR: 1.35 per 10 beats/min, 95%-CI: 1.11-1.67, p = 0.003), diabetes, hypertension, and history of coronary artery disease (OR: 4.43, 95%-CI: 1.93-10.17, p < 0.001; OR: 2.27, 95-CI: 1.01-4.73, p = 0.03; OR: 5.12, 95%-CI: 2.0-13.06, p < 0.001; respectively). Conclusion: Coronary CT permits acceptable image quality in more than 90% of patients with chest pain. Patients with multiple risk factors are more likely to have impaired image quality or non-evaluable coronary segments. These patients may require careful patient preparation and optimization of CT scanning protocols.
KW - Acute chest pain
KW - Cardiac computed tomography
KW - Coronary CT angiography
KW - Coronary artery disease
KW - Image quality
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ejrad.2009.03.001
DO - 10.1016/j.ejrad.2009.03.001
M3 - Article
C2 - 19346094
AN - SCOPUS:77950297987
SN - 0720-048X
VL - 74
SP - 182
EP - 188
JO - European Journal of Radiology
JF - European Journal of Radiology
IS - 1
ER -