Leber AW et al. (2005) Quantification of obstructive and nonobstructive coronary lesions by 64-slice computed tomography: a comparative study with quantitative coronary angiography and intravascular ultrasound. J Am Coll Cardiol [10.1016/j.jacc.2005.03.071]

Researchers from Germany have explored the use of 64-slice CT as a noninvasive means of evaluating atherosclerotic coronary lesions. The results of their study have recently been published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Leber and co-workers recruited 59 consecutive patients with stable angina, 10 of whom had previously undergone angioplasty. The remainder had no previously known coronary artery disease. All patients were examined by 64-slice CT no more than 2 days before catheter-based angiography, and intravascular ultrasound was also performed in a subset of 18 patients.

By comparing the 64-slice CT results with those obtained by angiography, the researchers showed that the technique had a sensitivity of 80% for the detection of lesions that produced stenoses of greater than 75%. The corresponding values for stenoses of greater than 50% and less than 50% were 73% and 79%, respectively. Specificity was 97% in each case. Values for plaque and lumen areas calculated by 64-slice CT agreed closely with those from intravascular ultrasound, but the measurement of the degree of luminal obstruction was less precise.

Noting that the method was limited in terms of measuring the degree of stenosis, the authors conclude that the 64-slice CT approach is a “clinically suitable and robust noninvasive method to detect and quantify obstructive and nonobstructive coronary artery disease”.