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A Comparative Regional Analysis of Coronary Atherosclerosis and Calcium Score on Multislice CT Versus Myocardial Perfusion on SPECT

¹ Department of Cardiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands; ² Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands; ³ Interuniversity Institute of The Netherlands, Utrecht, The Netherlands; ⁴ Cardiovascular Center, Aalst, Belgium; and ⁵ Department of Nuclear Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands

Correspondence: For correspondence or reprints contact: Jeroen J. Bax, MD, PhD, Department of Cardiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands. E-mail: jbax{at}knoware.nl

For the noninvasive evaluation of coronary artery disease (CAD), both multislice CT and gated SPECT are available. How these 2 modalities relate, however, is yet unclear. The purpose of this study was to perform a head-to-head comparison of the results of multislice CT and gated SPECT on a regional basis (per vessel distribution territory) in patients with known or suspected CAD. Methods: One hundred forty patients underwent both multislice CT for coronary calcium scoring and coronary angiography and gated SPECT for myocardial perfusion imaging. The coronary calcium score was determined for each coronary artery. Coronary arteries on multislice CT angiography were classified as having no CAD, insignificant stenosis (<50% luminal narrowing), significant stenosis, or total or subtotal occlusion (90% luminal narrowing). Gated SPECT findings were classified as normal or abnormal (reversible or fixed defects) and were allocated to the territory of one of the various coronary arteries. Results: In coronary arteries with a calcium score of 10 or less, the corresponding myocardial perfusion was normal in 87% (n = 194/224). In coronary arteries with extensive calcifications (score > 400), the percentage of vascular territories with normal myocardial perfusion was lower, 54% (n = 13/24). Similarly, in most of the normal coronary arteries on multislice CT angiography, the corresponding myocardial perfusion was normal on SPECT (156/175, or 89%). In contrast, the percentage of normal SPECT findings was significantly lower in coronary arteries with obstructive lesions (59%) or with total or subtotal occlusions (8%) (P < 0.01). Nonetheless, only 48% of vascular territories with normal perfusion corresponded to normal coronary arteries on multislice CT angiography, whereas insignificant and significant stenoses were present in, respectively, 40% and 12% of corresponding coronary arteries. Conclusion: Although a relationship exists between the severity of CAD on multislice CT and myocardial perfusion abnormalities on SPECT, analysis on a regional basis showed only moderate agreement between observed atherosclerosis and abnormal perfusion. Accordingly, multislice CT and gated SPECT provide complementary rather than overlapping information, and further studies should address how these 2 modalities can be integrated to optimize patient management.

Key Words: coronary artery disease • computed tomography • ischemia

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