Effectiveness of Using Dual-source CT and the Upshot it creates on Both Heart Rate and Image Quality

Abstract

Background: Early detection of coronary artery disease(CAD) is important because of the high morbidity andmortality rates. As invasive coronary angiography (ICA)is an invasive procedure, an alternative diagnostic method;coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA),has become more widely used by the improvements indetector technology.Aims: In this study, we aimed to examine the accuracyand image quality of high-pitch 128-slice dual-sourceCTA taking the ICA as reference technique. We alsoaimed to compare the accuracy and image quality betweendifferent heart rate groups of >70 beates per minute(bpm) and 50% was considered significant on a per-segment,per-vessel, and per-patient basis and ICA was consideredthe reference method. Radiation doses were determinedusing dose length product (DLP) values detected by thecomputed tomography (CT) device. In addition, patientswere classified into two groups according to their heartrates as 70 bpm (29 patients).The relation between the diagnostic accuracy andheart rate groups were evaluated.Results: Overall, 1495 (98%) coronary segments werediagnostic in 102 patients (32 male, 70 female, meanheart rate: 65 bpm). There was a significant correlationbetween image quality and mean heart rate in the rightcoronary artery (RCA) segments. The effective radiationdose was 0.98±0.09 mili Sievert (mSv). On a per-patientbasis, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negativepredictive values were 93.8%, 88.8%, 93.8% and 88.8%,respectively. These values were also similar in per-vesseland per-segment basis. Two different groups categorizedby mean heart rate had almost similar results in terms ofthe diagnostic power of dual-source CTA.Conclusion: CTA with a high pitch value is a reliable,non-invasive diagnostic method that can CAD with lowradiation doses not only in patients with a heart rate below70 bpm, but also in patients with higher heart rates.