A cost-effectiveness study by Thomas Jefferson University researchers indicates cardiac CT angiography makes financial sense in nonemergent cases if the price is appropriate.

Outpatient standard angiography costs almost $2800, based on 2005 Medicare reimbursement rates. The scientific literature shows that about 10% to 30% of cardiac catheterizations in nonurgent cases are normal and, thus, unnecessary.

CTA becomes a screening alternative to conventional cath angiography when priced up to $270 or $810, reflecting the estimated lower and higher normalcy rates of 10% and 30%, respectively, said Andrea Frangos, a research associate.

In addition to ruling out significant lesions, CTA can reveal findings that could save on extra treatments and hospitalization costs related to catheterization. Frangos presented a comparison of cardiac CTA with conventional catheter angiography in nonemergent patients at the 2006 American Roentgen Ray Society meeting in Vancouver.