Cardiac CT studies pose questions on clinical role

January 22, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Cardiac CT studies pose questions on clinical role Researchers stress need for better dose reduction strategies as whole-chest exams earn positive reviews James Brice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Studies of chest pain patients with conventional 64-slice and dual-source CT add to a growing base of evidence suggesting that CT is well suited to rule out acute coronary syndrome in the emergency room and to identify coronary artery in-stent restenosis. An initial study of 256-slice CT presented at the RSNA meeting was encouraging, but the specter of high radiation exposure-especially exams covering the entire chest-challenged researchers to find better ways to reduce dose. Several large single-site studies demonstrated that single-source 64-slice and dual-source CT angiography can with near certainty rule out the presence of acute coronary syndrome in emergency room patients with an intermediate or low risk of myocardial infarction. The findings suggest that multislice CT will reduce unnecessary hospitalizations and the time patients wait for definitive enzyme and treadmill test results, said Dr. Christoph Becker, section chief of CT at the University Hospital of Munich-Grosshadern in Germany.

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