The investigation of the 16-slice CT angiography in diagnosis of the coronary artery disease

Objective To evaluate the accuracy of 16-slice computed tomography coronary angiography in detection of stenosis (50%) of the coronary artery. Methods In 90 patients (63 male, mean age 67±9 years) with coronary artery disease or suspected coronary artery disease, 16-slice CT and conventional coronary angiography were performed within two weeks. CT scan was obtained with collimation of 0.625 mm×16 and rotation time of 500 ms. Retrospective electrocardiographic gating was used for image reconstruction. The stenosis degree was detected with axis scanning and three-dimension reformation. Only angiographic segments diameter 1.5 mm were included for the analysis. The results were compared with catheter coronary artery angiography. Results In all patients, 16-slice CT were performed without complications. 1?267 segments were considered as stenosis by 16-slice CT. With the results of conventional coronary angiography as the golden standard, the sensitivity of 16-slice CT was 75.43% and its specificity was 95.88%. Its positive predicted value was 74.58% while its negative predicted value was 96.01% and its accuracy was 93.05% for stenosis of greater than 50%. Conclusion 16-slice CT provides a good visualization of the coronary tree in most patients, allowing accurate non-invasive detection of significant coronary stenosis.