DIAGNOSTIC VALUE OF CORONARY TRANSLUMINAL ATTENUATION GRADIENT IN CORONARY CT ANGIOGRAPHY FOR DETERMINING STENOSIS SEVERITY

Abstract Background: The purpose of the present study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy ofTransluminal attenuation gradient (TAG) in 64-slice  multislice  computed  tomography in the detection of significant coronary artery disease, using diameter stenosis as the comparison. Methods: In 82 patients scheduled for coronary CTangiography, 64-slice MSCT was performed and evaluated for the presence of significant (>50% luminal narrowing) stenosis. Then TAG determined from the change in HU per 5-mm length of coronary artery and defined as the linear regression coefficient between intra-HU and length from the ostium (millimeters).   Result: Total mean (S.E) of TAG is -2.87(0.28), the TAG is significantly different (PV<0.0001) in patients with significant stenosis -4.71(0.36) in compare with nonsignificant stenosis -1.30(0.23). Also we definition the cutoff point for TAG for better evaluation of severity.   Conclusion: The present study confirms that TAG is the accurate and noninvasive functional method to determine the significant coronary artery stenosis.