Assessment of coronary artery stent patency by electron-beam CT

Eur Radiol. 2004 Aug;14(8):1341-7. doi: 10.1007/s00330-004-2337-x. Epub 2004 Jun 3.

Abstract

Following coronary angioplasty and stent implantation, restenosis remains common and its outcome difficult to predict. We set out to determine the diagnostic accuracy of electron-beam computed tomography (EBCT) for the non-invasive detection of stent obstruction. In a prospective, blinded investigation, we included 152 coronary artery segments in 117 patients treated with a stent implant. All segments were evaluated by a dynamic EBCT study that depicted contrast bolus passage distal to the stent and a CT angiographic study of the entire coronary arteries. It was found that delayed contrast enhancement in the distal segment correlated with angiographic stent obstruction (Spearman's rank correlation, P=0.008), while all other indicators of stent occlusion did not correlate with angiographic diagnosis. However, direct comparison of patients with obstruction of less vs. more than 75% of luminal diameter did not yield any statistically significant differences of distal enhancement delay, and for the detection of >90% occlusion, the sensitivity was 72% at a specificity of 60%. Although delayed contrast enhancement distal to the stent upon EBCT did correlate with angiographical obstruction, the correlation did not suffice to appear clinically satisfactory.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Contrast Media / administration & dosage
  • Coronary Angiography / instrumentation
  • Coronary Angiography / methods*
  • Coronary Circulation / physiology
  • Coronary Restenosis / diagnosis*
  • Female
  • Graft Occlusion, Vascular / diagnostic imaging
  • Humans
  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / methods
  • Imaging, Three-Dimensional / methods
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Prospective Studies
  • ROC Curve
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Stents*
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed / methods*
  • Vascular Patency* / physiology

Substances

  • Contrast Media