Objective: To evaluate the epidemiological and morphological characteristics of coronary plaque in diabetic patients with symptomatic coronary heart disease (CHD) by dual-source computed tomography (DSCT).
Materials and methods: From June 2013 to December 2014, 267 consecutive patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were examined by DSCT. Plaque type, distribution, as well as extent and obstructive characteristics were determined for each segment.
Results: A total of 225 patients were included in the final study. Among the 225 cases, patients with calcium score >10 accounted for 76.9%. With the increase in calcium score, the number of obstructive stenoses increased from 17 (22.7%) to 150 (66.4%) segments, and non-obstructive stenosis decreased from 58 (77.3%) to 76 (33.6%) segments. A total of 862 (3.8±3.0 per patient) plaques were detected, of which 448 (52%) were calcified plaque, 272 (32%) mixed plaques and 142 (16%) soft plaques. Regarding the stenosis type, there were significantly more mild (54%), followed by moderate (26%) and severe stenosis (20%); 152 (67.6%) patients had .2 vascular lesions, while 73 (32.4%) patients with single diseased vessel. 190 (84.40%) patients with atherosclerotic plaque were located in left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery, 146 (64.9%) patients in right coronary artery (RCA), 114 (50.7%) patients in left circumflex (LCX) coronary artery. The most common site of all detected plaques was the proximal segment of the LAD (18.7%).
Conclusion: DSCT showed that coronary arteries of diabetic patients with symptomatic CHD were more prone to calcification. There was more non-obstructive than obstructive lumen narrowing; obstructive stenosis and calcification score was positively correlated; coronary plaques were widely distributed, and mainly located in multiple diseased vessels.