HealthDay News - Coronary computed tomography may provide alternative to catheter-based angiography
HealthDay News - Low-dose coronary computed tomography (CT) appears as sensitive as catheter-based angiography and may provide a non-invasive alternative to the latter for ruling out coronary artery disease (CAD) in symptomatic patients, according to a meta-analysis published in the March 15 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Moritz Wyler von Ballmoos, MD, PhD, MPH, of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, and colleagues analyzed 16 studies comprising 960 patients to summarize current evidence on the ability of low-dose coronary CT for ruling out CAD in symptomatic adults.
The researchers determined the sensitivity and specificity of the technique to be 1.00 and 0.89, respectively, at the patient level. The pooled vessel- and segment-level estimates had lower sensitivity and higher specificity than did the patient-level estimates. The researchers found statistically significant heterogeneity between studies for vessel- and segment-level estimates, and this seemed to be related to body mass index and prevalence of CAD, though not with CT scanner characteristics. The researchers concluded that evidence suggests low-dose coronary CT angiography matches catheter-based angiography's sensitivity with low radiation exposure and may be a valid alternative to catheter angiography for triaging symptomatic patients with a suspicion of CAD.
"This noninvasive technique is associated with a low effective radiation dose of 2.7 mSv. However, our meta-analysis is based on a small number of studies, many of which were done at a single academic site and presumably with the same expert operators. Further studies are therefore needed before widespread diffusion of the technology can be recommended," the authors write.
AbstractFull Text (subscription or payment may be required)
Copyright © 2011 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Emerging AI Algorithm Shows Promise for Abbreviated Breast MRI in Multicenter Study
April 25th 2025An artificial intelligence algorithm for dynamic contrast-enhanced breast MRI offered a 93.9 percent AUC for breast cancer detection, and a 92.3 percent sensitivity in BI-RADS 3 cases, according to new research presented at the Society for Breast Imaging (SBI) conference.
The Reading Room Podcast: Current Perspectives on the Updated Appropriate Use Criteria for Brain PET
March 18th 2025In a new podcast, Satoshi Minoshima, M.D., Ph.D., and James Williams, Ph.D., share their insights on the recently updated appropriate use criteria for amyloid PET and tau PET in patients with mild cognitive impairment.
Can Abbreviated Breast MRI Have an Impact in Assessing Post-Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Response?
April 24th 2025New research presented at the Society for Breast Imaging (SBI) conference suggests that abbreviated MRI is comparable to full MRI in assessing pathologic complete response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer.
Clarius Mobile Health Unveils Anterior Knee Feature for Handheld Ultrasound
April 23rd 2025The T-Mode Anterior Knee feature reportedly offers a combination of automated segmentation and real-time conversion of grayscale ultrasound images into color-coded visuals that bolster understanding for novice ultrasound users.