Comparison of CT-derived Plaque Characteristic Index With CMR Perfusion for Ischemia Diagnosis in Stable CAD

Wei-Feng Guo; Hai-Jia Xu; Yi-Ge Lu; Guan-Yu Qiao; Shan Yang; Shi-Hai Zhao; Hang Jin; Neng Dai; Zhi-Feng Yao; Jia-Sheng Yin; Chen-Guang Li; Wei He; Mengsu Zeng

doi:10.1161/CIRCIMAGING.123.015773

Comparison of CT-derived Plaque Characteristic Index With CMR Perfusion for Ischemia Diagnosis in Stable CAD

Circ Cardiovasc Imaging. 2023 Sep;16(9):e015773. doi: 10.1161/CIRCIMAGING.123.015773. Epub 2023 Sep 19.

Authors

Wei-Feng Guo^#^{1

2}, Hai-Jia Xu^#^{3

4}, Yi-Ge Lu³, Guan-Yu Qiao³, Shan Yang^{1

2}, Shi-Hai Zhao^{1

2}, Hang Jin^{1

2}, Neng Dai⁴, Zhi-Feng Yao⁴, Jia-Sheng Yin⁴, Chen-Guang Li⁴, Wei He^{5

6}, Mengsu Zeng^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University and Shanghai Institute of Medical Imaging, China (W.-f.G., S.Y., S.-h.Z., H.J., M.Z.).
² Department of Medical Imaging, Shanghai Medical School (W.-f.G., S.Y., S.-h.Z., H.J., M.Z.).
³ School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China (Y.-g.L., G.-y.Q., H.-J.X.).
⁴ Department of Cardiology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University and Shanghai Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, China (H.-j.X., N.D., Z.-f.Y., J.-s.Y., C.-g.L.).
⁵ Department of Vascular Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital (W.H.).
⁶ Fudan University, Shanghai, China (W.H.).

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 37725669
DOI: 10.1161/CIRCIMAGING.123.015773

Abstract

Background: Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) have been used to diagnose lesion-specific ischemia in patients with coronary artery disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic performance of CCTA-derived plaque characteristic index compared with myocardial blood flow (MBF) and myocardial perfusion reserve (MPR) derived from CMR perfusion in the assessment of lesion-specific ischemia.

Methods: Between October 2020 and March 2022, consecutive patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease, who were clinically referred for invasive coronary angiography were prospectively enrolled. All participants sequentially underwent CCTA and CMR and invasive fractional flow reserve within 2 weeks. The diagnostic performance of CCTA-derived plaque characteristics, CMR perfusion-derived stress MBF, and MPR were compared. Lesions with fractional flow reserve ≤0.80 were considered to be hemodynamically significant stenosis.

Results: Nighty-two patients with 141 vessels were included in this study. Plaque length, minimum luminal area, plaque area, percent area stenosis, total atheroma volume, vessel volume, lipid-rich volume, spotty calcium, napkin-ring signs, stress MBF, and MPR in flow-limiting stenosis group were significantly different from nonflow-limiting group. The overall accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of lesion-specific ischemia diagnosis were 61.0%, 55.3%, 63.1%, 35.6%, and 79.3% for stress MBF, and 89.4%, 89.5%, 89.3%, 75.6%, 95.8% for MPR; meanwhile, 82.3%, 79.0%, 84.5%, 65.2%, and 91.6% for CCTA-derived plaque characteristic index.

Conclusions: In our prospective study, CCTA-derived plaque characteristics and MPR derived from CMR performed well in diagnosing lesion-specific myocardial ischemia and were significantly better than stress MBF in stable coronary artery disease.

Keywords: computed tomography angiography; coronary artery disease; diagnosis; myocardial perfusion imaging; plaque, atherosclerotic.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Constriction, Pathologic
Coronary Angiography
Coronary Artery Disease* / diagnostic imaging
Fractional Flow Reserve, Myocardial*
Humans
Ischemia
Perfusion
Prospective Studies
Tomography, X-Ray Computed