0D-1D coupling model and 3D fluid-structure interaction model based on coronary CT angiography for displaying hemodynamic characteristics of coronary artery stenosis

Objective To observe value of 0D-1D coupling model and 3D fluid-structure interaction(FSI)model based on coronary CT angiography(CCTA)for displaying hemodynamic characteristics of coronary artery stenosis.Methods Based on CCTA data of the stenosed left anterior descending branch(LAD)in a patient with coronary heart disease,an 0D-1D coupling model and 3D FSI model were built,respectively.Then hemodynamic characteristic indexes,including the pressure,flow velocity and wall shear stress(WSS)were obtained in every 0.01 s during 1 s at 5 sampling points(i.e.sampling point 1—5)using these 2 models,respectively,and the consistencies of the results between models were evaluated with Spearman correlation coefficient r s.Results The time consuming for construction of 0D-1D coupling model and 3D FSI model was 0.033 min and 704 min,respectively.Both models showed basically distribution of the pressure,flow velocity and WSS of the stenosed LAD.For more details,the pressure at the stenosed segment of LAD and the proximal segment of stenosis were both higher,which gradually decreased at the distal segment of stenosis,and the flow velocity at the proximal segment of stenosis was in a relatively slow and uniform condition,with significantly increased flow velocity and WSS at the stenosed segment.Compared with 3D FSI model,0D-1D vascular coupling model was relatively unrefined and lack of distal flow lines when displaying blood flow velocity.For sampling point 2 at the stenosed segment of LAD,no significant consistency for pressure between 2 models was found(P=0.118),but strong consistency for the flow velocity and WSS(r s=0.730,0.807,both P<0.05).The consistencies of pressure,flow velocity and WSS between 2 models at the proximal and distal segment of stenosis,i.e.1,3—5 sampling points were week to moderate(r s=0.237—0.669,all P<0.05).Conclusion 0D-1D coupling model exhibited outstanding computational efficiency and might provide relatively reasonable results,while 3D FSI model showed higher accuracy for details and streamline when simulating LAD stenosis.

High Prevalence of Anatomical Variations and Anomalies of the Coronary Arteries Detected by CT Angiography in Symptomatic Patients

Objective:Coronary artery anatomical variations and anomalies are an important topic due to their potential clinical manifestations.This study aims to investigate the prevalence of coronary artery anatomical variations and anomalies in symptomatic patients with coronary computed tomography angiography(CCTA).Methods:This is a retrospective study that included all symptomatic patients who had CCTA in a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia during a period of seven years.Results:The total number of included patients was 507(60%males)with a mean age of 57.4 years.Approximately 41%had luminal stenoses,averaging 49.7%.The total num-ber of patients with coronary anatomical variations(CAV)and coronary artery anomalies(CAA)was 217(43%).CAV prevalence was 26%,which included 14%non-right coronary dominance,5%short left main coronary artery(LMCA),and 7%division variations(trifurcation and quadrifurcarion)of the LMCA.The prevalence of CAA was 29%,which included 5%origin anomalies,22%myocardial bridge,and 2%course anomalies.Conclusions:A high prevalence of coronary artery anatomic variations and anomalies in symptomatic patients is reported in this study.Systematic reviews,meta-analyses,reporting guidelines,and unified definitions and classifications of cor-onary variations and anomalies are lacking in the literature,presenting potential opportunities for future research and publications.

Epidemiological, Clinical and Coronary Angiography Aspects of Acute Coronary Syndrome in the Cardiology Department of the Hospital Mother-Child “Le Luxembourg”Mali

Introduction: Cardiac catheterisation plays a fundamental role in the management of acute coronary syndrome. These explorations require heavy, complex and costly equipment and a large team of doctors, nurses and technicians with highly specialized training. Aims: To describe epidemiological, clinical and coronary angiography aspects of patients with acute coronary syndrome. Patients and Methods: Descriptive study from September 2019 to December 2023 in the Cardiology Department of the Hôpital Mère-Enfant of Bamako. Inclusion criteria were patients admitted for coronary angiography with the diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome. Results: During the study period, 1253 patients underwent coronary angiography, 596 of whom had acute coronary syndrome as an indication, representing a hospital frequency of 47%. Sex-ratio was 2.10. Mean age of patients was 58.5 ± 11.39 years. ST elevation acute coronary syndrome was the most common indication with 63.92% of cases. High blood pressure was the main cardiovascular risk factor with 58.7% of cases, and radial access approach was used in 98% of cases. Coronary angiography was pathological in 91.70% of cases (n = 548). Patients with lesions of anterior interventricular artery were 73.73% of cases. Tritruncal lesions accounted for 40.63% of cases. Conclusion: ST elevation acute coronary syndrome is the most frequent manifestation of acute coronary syndrome. Anterior interventricular artery is most often the culprit lesion for our patients.

Coronary Artery Patterns in Diabetic Patients Undergoing Diagnostic Coronary Angiography-Data from a Major Cardiac Center in Yemen

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is independently associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity, including coronary artery disease (CAD). CAD is a shared burden disease and the leading cause of death in developed and developing countries. We aimed to assess the angiographic patterns of coronary arteries in patients with DM in a developing country (Yemen) as the first study. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional, prospective, observational study that includes a total of 250 patients who were admitted for elective diagnostic coronary angiography. Results: 96 (38.4%) patients were diabetics;68% were male;mean age was 57 ± 11 years. The incidence of three-vessel disease was 31.2% of patients. Considering the severity of lumen occlusion, (11.2%) of patients had non-significant lesions, (37.6%) of patients had significant lesions, and (32%) had total occlusive lesions. Lesions were of LAD in 76%, RCA in 60%, and LCX in 52% of the population. Among diabetics, two and 3-vessel diseases (33.3% vs. 20.8% & 50% vs. 19.5%, P = 0.001), left main lesion (10.4% vs. 2.6%, P = 0.012), significant stenosis (41.7% vs. 35.1%, P = 0.032), total occlusion of coronary arteries (43.8% vs. 19.5%, P = 0.032) and type C lesion (66.7% vs. 35.1%, P = 0.010) were more frequent than non-DM patients. Conclusion: The burden of significant and severe coronary lesions is more common among DM, which may be the major cause of morbidity and mortality of DM in developing countries.

Effects of Continuous Precision Nursing Model on Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) Behavior and Cardiac Function in Patients after Percutaneous Coronary Angiography and Stent Implantation

Objective:To explore the impact of a continuous precision nursing model on patients’Knowledge,Attitudes,and Practices(KAP)and cardiac function during the nursing process of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary angiography and stent implantation.Methods:Ninety patients who underwent percutaneous coronary angiography and stent implantation in our hospital from April 2022 to April 2023 were selected and randomly divided into the control group(45 cases),in which routine nursing support was carried out during the treatment process,and the observation group(45 cases),in which continuous precision nursing model was carried out during the treatment process.Comparisons were made between the two groups of patients on their KAP,cardiac function,and quality of life during recovery.Results:There was no difference in the left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF),cardiac output(CO),and cardiac index(CI)levels before intervention.After the intervention,the levels of cardiac function in the observation group were higher than those of the control group(P<0.05).There was no difference in the Exercise of Self-Care Agency(ESCA)self-care ability scale scores before the intervention.After the intervention,the observation group had higher ESCA scores than the control group(P<0.05).Conclusion:Implementation of a continuous precision nursing model in the care of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary angiography and stent implantation improved the patient’s cardiac function,and KAP,and promoted recovery.

Emerging role of computed tomography coronary angiography in evaluation of children with Kawasaki disease

Coronary artery abnormalities are the most important complications in children with Kawasaki disease(KD).Two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography currently is the standard of care for initial evaluation and follow-up of children with KD.However,it has inherent limitations with regard to evaluation of mid and distal coronary arteries and,left circumflex artery and the poor acoustic window in older children often makes evaluation difficult in this age group.Catheter angiography(CA)is invasive,has high radiation exposure and fails to demonstrate abnormalities beyond lumen.The limitations of echocardiography and CA necessitate the use of an imaging modality that overcomes these problems.In recent years advances in computed tomography technology have enabled explicit evaluation of coronary arteries along their entire course including major branches with optimal and acceptable radiation exposure in children.Computed tomography coronary angiography(CTCA)can be performed during acute as well as convalescent phases of KD.It is likely that CTCA may soon be considered the reference standard imaging modality for evaluation of coronary arteries in children with KD.

Novel fast FFR derived from coronary CT angiography based on static first-pass algorithm:a comparison study

BACKGROUND Fractional flow reserve(FFR)is the invasive gold standard for evaluating coronary arterial stenosis.However,there have been a few non-invasive methods such as computational fluid dynamics FFR(CFD-FFR)with coronary CT angiography(CCTA)images that can perform FFR assessment.This study aims to develop a new method based on the principle of static first-pass of CT perfusion imaging technique(SF-FFR)and evaluate the efficacy in direct comparisons between CFD-FFR and the invasive FFR.METHODS A total of 91 patients(105 coronary artery vessels)who were admitted from January 2015 to March 2019 were enrolled in this study,retrospectively.All patients underwent CCTA and invasive FFR.64 patients(75 coronary artery vessels)were successfully analyzed.The correlation and diagnostic performance of SF-FFR method on per-vessel basis were analyzed,using invasive FFR as the gold standard.As a comparison,we also evaluated the correlation and diagnostic performance of CFD-FFR.RESULTS The SF-FFR showed a good Pearson correlation(r=0.70,P<0.001)and intra-class correlation(r=0.67,P<0.001)with the gold standard.The Bland-Altman analysis showed that the average difference between the SF-FFR and invasive FFR was 0.03(0.11–0.16);between CFD-FFR and invasive FFR was 0.04(-0.10–0.19).Diagnostic accuracy and area under the ROC curve on a per-vessel level were 0.89,0.94 for SF-FFR,and 0.87,0.89 for CFD-FFR,respectively.The SF-FFR calculation time was about 2.5 s per case while CFD calculation was about 2 min on an Nvidia Tesla V100 graphic card.CONCLUSIONS The SF-FFR method is feasible and shows high correlation compared to the gold standard.This method could simplify the calculation procedure and save time compared to the CFD method.

Effects of combining multiple dose reduction techniques on coronary computed tomography angiography

BACKGROUND Coronary computed tomography angiography(CCTA)is the preferred noninvasive examination method for coronary heart disease.However,the radiation from computed tomography has become a concern since public awareness of radiation hazards continue to increase.AIM To explore the value of multiple dose reduction techniques for CCTA.METHODS Consecutive normal and overweight patients were prospectively divided into two groups:Group A1,patients who received multiple dose reduction scans(n=82);and group A2,patients who received conventional scans(n=39).The scan parameters for group A1 were as follows:Isocentric scan,tube voltage=80 kV,and tube current control using 80%smart milliampere.The scan parameters for group A2 were as follows:Normal position,tube voltage=100 kV,and smart milliampere.RESULTS The average effective doses(EDs)for groups A1 and A2 were 1.13±0.35 and 3.36±1.30 mSv,respectively.There was a statistically significant difference in ED between the two groups(P<0.01).Furthermore,noise was significantly lower,and both signal-to-noise ratio and contrast signal-to-noise ratio were higher in group A2 when compared to group A1(P<0.01).Moreover,the subjective image quality(IQ)scores were excellent in both groups,in which there was no significant difference in subjective IQ score between the two groups(P=0.12).CONCLUSION Multiple dose reduction scan techniques can significantly decrease the ED of patients receiving CCTA examinations for clinical diagnosis.

Contrast-induced ischemic colitis following coronary angiography:A case report

BACKGROUND Ischemic colitis(IC)is common,rising in incidence and associated with high mortality.Its presentation,disease behavior and severity vary widely,and there is significant heterogeneity in therapeutic strategies and prognosis.The common causes of IC include thromboembolism,hemodynamic insufficiency,iatrogenic factors and drug-induced.However,contrast-induced IC,especially isolated right colon ischemia is rarely reported.CASE SUMMARY A 52-year-old man was admitted to the hospital due to intermittent chest distress accompanied by palpitation.Coronary angiography was performed using 60 mL of the iodinated contrast agent iohexol(Omnipaque 300),and revealed moderate stenosis of the left anterior descending artery and right coronary artery.At 3 h post-procedure,he complained of epigastric pain without fever,diarrhea and vomiting.Vital signs remained normal.An iodixanol-enhanced abdominal computed tomography(CT)scan revealed thickening,edema of the ascending and right transverse colonic wall and inflammatory exudate,without thrombus in mesenteric arteries and veins.Following 4 days of treatment with antibiotic and supportive management,the patient had a quick and excellent recovery with disappearance of abdominal pain,normalization of leucocyte count and a significant decrease in C reactive protein.There was no recurrence of abdominal pain during the patient's two-year follow-up.CONCLUSION This case emphasizes that contrast-induced IC should be considered in the differential diagnosis of unexplained abdominal pain after a cardiovascular interventional procedure with the administration of contrast media.Timely imaging evaluation by CT and early diagnosis help to improve the prognosis of IC.

Radiation dose analysis of computed tomography coronary angiography in Children with Kawasaki disease

BACKGROUND There is evolving role of computed tomography coronary angiography(CTCA)in non-invasive evaluation of coronary artery abnormalities in children with Kawasaki disease(KD).Despite this,there is lack of data on radiation dose in this group of children undergoing CTCA.AIM To audit the radiation dose of CTCA in children with KD.METHODS Study(December 2013-February 2018)was performed on dual source CT scanner using adaptive prospective electrocardiography-triggering.The dose length product(DLP in milligray-centimeters-mGy.cm)was recorded.Effective radiation dose(millisieverts-mSv)was calculated by applying appropriate age adjusted conversion factors as per recommendations of International Commission on Radiological Protection.Radiation dose was compared across the groups(0-1,1-5,5-10,and>10 years).RESULTS Eighty-five children(71 boys,14 girls)with KD underwent CTCA.The median age was 5 years(range,2 mo-11 years).Median DLP and effective dose was 21 mGy.cm,interquartile ranges(IQR)=15(13,28)and 0.83 mSv,IQR=0.33(0.68,1.01)respectively.Mean DLP increased significantly across the age groups.Mean effective dose in infants(0.63 mSv)was significantly lower than the other age groups(1-5 years 0.85 mSv,5-10 years 1.04 mSv,and>10 years 1.38 mSv)(P<0.05).There was no significant difference in the effective dose between the other groups of children.All the CTCA studies were of diagnostic quality.No child required a repeat examination.CONCLUSION CTCA is feasible with submillisievert radiation dose in most children with KD.Thus,CTCA has the potential to be an important adjunctive imaging modality in children with KD.

Prevalence and Predictive Factors of Severe Coronary Lesions in Algerian Patients Undergoing Coronary Angiography

Background: The severity of coronary lesions in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) has important prognostic and therapeutic consequences. Clinical symptoms not always reflect the disease severity and this study aimed to evaluate coronary lesions in the Algerian population where these data are scarce. Methods: It was a prospective cross-sectional study conducted in consecutive patients with an age ≥20 years who underwent clinically-indicated coronary angiography in our center. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of severe coronary lesions assessed with the Gensini score. The predictive factors of severity were evaluated in a multivariate analysis. Results: A total of 507 patients were included (male, 79.7%;mean age, 58.8 years). Coronary angiography was prescribed most frequently for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STMI) (46.9%) and non-STMI (38.1%). The prevalence of severe coronary lesions was 69.6% (95% CI 65.5 - 73.5). In multivariate analysis, the independent predictive factors of severe coronary lesions were male sex (odds ratio [OR] 2.00;p = 0.0141), diabetes (OR 1.92;p = 0.0070), left ventricular dysfunction (OR 1.81;p = 0.0059), age (OR 1.72;p = 0.0297) and no lipid-lowering treatment (OR, 0.47;p = 0.0388). Conclusions: Severe coronary lesions were present in two out three patients in this cohort of Algerian patients undergoing coronary angiography. Independent predictive factors of severe coronary lesions were male sex, diabetes, age, left ventricular dysfunction and no lipid-lowering treatment. It is important to identify these at-risk patients, as they should be explored at an asymptomatic stage before a cardiovascular event and receive prompt treatment with angioplasty or surgery.

Acute Coronary Syndrome of Young Subjects at the Luxembourg Mother-Child University Hospital in Bamako

Introduction: Acute coronary syndrome is often the first event of coronary disease of young subjects. Objective: To study sociodemographic, clinical, paraclinical, therapeutic and evolutionary aspects of acute coronary syndrome of young subjects. Patients and Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study with prospective recruitment from October 01, 2020 to March 31, 2022. Were included all patients admitted for acute coronary syndrome whose age was less or equal to 45 years and who had undergone coronary angiography at the Mother-Child University Hospital on Luxembourg from Bamako. Results: During the study period, we collected 60 patient files out of 198. These 60 patient files met our inclusion criteria. Hospital frequency was 30.30%. Average age of patients was 40.43 ± 3.9 years. Sex ratio M/F was 5.3. Main cardiovascular risk factor was smoking tobacco (23.42%), followed by dyslipidemia (13.92%). Functional signs were dominated by angina 62% followed by dyspnea 25.3%. Persistent ST-segment elevation on electrocardiogram was present in 76.4%. Left ventricular systolic dysfunction was present in 26.5%. Time to first medical contact was more than 12 hours in 62.7% of cases. Radial approach was adopted in 94% of cases. Coronary angiography was pathological in 85% (n = 51) of cases. Lesions were single-vessel disease in 47.1% and culprit artery was anterior interventricular in 51% of cases. Dual anti-platelet aggregation was aspirin and ticagrelor in 91.8% of cases. Angioplasty was performed in all patients who had significant abnormalities at coronary angiography. In-hospital mortality was 3.9%. Conclusion: Acute coronary syndromes exist in young Africans with a male predominance. Main cardiovascular risk factor is smoking tobacco. Coronary lesions are single vessel disease in the majority of case. Most of patients meet medical team after 12 hours. Time to first medical contact is a main challenge in our country.

Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Acute Coronary Syndromes at the Mother-Child University Hospital Luxembourg in Bamako

Introduction: Acute coronary syndromes (ACS) are a diagnostic and therapeutic emergency. Objective: Studying the feasibility, difficulties and results of coronary angioplasty in acute coronary syndromes at the Luxembourg Mother-Child University Hospital in Bamako. Patients and Methods: Cross-sectional, descriptive study with prospective recruitment over 18 months from September 2020 to February 2022. All patients aged at least 18 years old admitted for SCA and having undergone PCI during the study period were included. Result: We collected 249 patients for SCA, of whom 160 underwent angioplasty, either an angioplasty/SCA ratio of 0.64. The average age of the patients was 59.54 ± 11.62 with extremes of 32 and 92 years. The age group of 45 to 65 years was the most representative. The predominance was male, sex ratio of 2.4. The main cardiovascular risk factors were high blood pressure (58.23%) and diabetes (45.78%). Persistent ST-segment elevation on the electrocardiogram was present in 71.48%. The treatment time was more than 12 hours after the first medical contact in 95.5%. The approach was radial in 96.5% of cases. Coronarography was pathological in 91.16% of our patients. The lesions were tri-truncular in 34.13% with the anterior inter ventricular as culprit artery in 72% of cases. The majority of patients (64%) had undergone angioplasty with implantation of an active stent. Angioplasty was performed successfully in 98% and per procedural mortality was 1.87%. Only 6.45% of ACS with ST elevation benefited from primary angioplasty. Conclusion: Percutaneous coronary intervention is performed routinely in our center with satisfactory results. Difficulties exist, related to the diagnostic delay of ACS and the high cost of angioplasty.

Clinical Value of the Quantitative Flow Ratio to Predict Long-term Target Vessel Failure in Patients with In-stent Restenosis after Drug-coated Balloon Angioplasty

Objective The study sought to investigate the clinical predictive value of quantitative flow ratio(QFR)for the long-term target vessel failure(TVF)outcome in patients with in-stent restenosis(ISR)by using drug-coated balloon(DCB)treatment after a long-term follow-up.Methods This was a retrospective study.A total of 186 patients who underwent DCB angioplasty for ISR in two hospitals from March 2014 to September 2019 were enrolled.The QFR of the entire target vessel was measured offline.The primary endpoint was TVF,including target vessel-cardiac death(TV-CD),target vessel-myocardial infarction(TV-MI),and clinically driven-target vessel revascularization(CD-TVR).Results The follow-up time was 3.09±1.53 years,and 50 patients had TVF.The QFR immediately after percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI)was significantly lower in the TVF group than in the no-TVF group.Multivariable Cox regression analysis indicated that the QFR immediately after PCI was an excellent predictor for TVF after the long-term follow-up[hazard ratio(HR):5.15×10−5(6.13×10−8−0.043);P<0.01].Receiver-operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis demonstrated that the optimal cut-off value of the QFR immediately after PCI for predicting the long-term TVF was 0.925(area under the curve:0.886,95%confidence interval:0.834–0.938;sensitivity:83.40%,specificity:88.00;P<0.01).In addition,QFR≤0.925 post-PCI was strongly correlated with the TVF,including TV-MI and CD-TVR(P<0.01).Conclusion The QFR immediately after PCI showed a high predictive value of TVF after a long-term follow-up in ISR patients who underwent DCB angioplasty.A lower QFR immediately after PCI was associated with a worse TVF outcome.

Correlation between Neutrophil Percentage-to-albumin Ratio and Coronary Heart Disease Complicated with Diabetes Mellitus

[Objectives]This study was conducted to explore the relationship between neutrophil percentage-to-albumin ratio(NPAR)and coronary heart disease complicated with diabetes.[Methods]A total of 603 patients with coronary heart disease who underwent coronary angiography in Pingquan County Hospital from January,2023 to December,2023 and met the inclusion criteria were included as the research object.All the patients were divided into a coronary heart disease complicated with diabetes group(CAD+T2DM group)(n=298 cases)and a control group(CAD group)(n=305 cases),according to patients medical history,heart color ultrasound and biochemical test results.The clinical data,biochemical test results and coronary artery imaging data of patients were recorded,and the Gensini score was calculated.The neutrophil percentage(NEUT%)and albumin count were determined to calculate NPAR.[Results]The NPAR value of the coronary heart disease complicated with diabetes mellitus group was(1.6±0.42),which was significantly higher than that of the control group(1.47±0.49),and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).The area under the ROC curve was 0.619(95%CI:0.591-0.675,P<0.05),and the prediction of coronary heart disease complicated with diabetes using NPAR showed a Youden index of 0.31,a sensitivity of 60.4%,a specificity of 40.3%,and a best cut-off score of 1.4506.[Conclusions]The neutrophil percentage-to-albumin ratio(NPAR)is closely related to coronary heart disease complicated with diabetes mellitus,and NPAR has clinical application value in the diagnosis of coronary heart disease complicated with diabetes mellitus.

Feasibility analysis of coronary angiography by transradial approach with 4F catheter

Objective:To assess the feasibility of coronary angiography by transradial approach with 4F catheter.Methods:The procedural details,picture quality,local complication were recorded for coronary by transradial approach with 4F catheter in 138 patients.Results:The success rate of angiography was 97.7%;fluoroscopy time was(5.05±3.23)minutes,total procedural time was(20.51±3.37)minutes;the incidence of dislodgement,excessive engagement of either coronary artery was 7.8%,9.4%,repectively;the angiographic scores for left anterior descending,circumflex and right coronary arteries were(2.87±0.40),(2.88±0.39),(2.90±0.35),respectively.The spasm complication occurred 4.3% in radial artery and 1.5% in coronary artery.There were no occlusion of radial artery during follow up.Conclusion:4F catheter could be the first chosen in some selecting patients for its nice maneuverability,fine images and fewer vascular complications.

Diagnostic accuracy of a deep learning approach to calculate FFR from coronary CT angiography

Background The computational fluid dynamics(CFD)approach has been frequently applied to compute the fractional flow reserve(FFR)using computed tomography angiography(CTA).This technique is efficient.We developed the DEEPVESSEL-FFR platform using the emerging deep learning technique to calculate the FFR value out of CTA images in five minutes.This study is to evaluate the DEEPVESSEL-FFR platform using the emerging deep learning technique to calculate the FFR value from CTA images as an efficient method.Methods A single-center,prospective study was conducted and 63 patients were enrolled for the evaluation of the diagnostic performance of DEEPVESSEL-FFR.Automatic quantification method for the three-dimensional coronary arterial geometry and the deep learning based prediction of FFR were developed to assess the ischemic risk of the stenotic coronary arteries.Diagnostic performance of the DEEPVESSEL-FFR was assessed by using wire-based FFR as reference standard.The primary evaluation factor was defined by using the area under receiver-operation characteristics curve(AUC)analysis.Results For per-patient level,taking the cut-off value<0.8 referring to the FFR measurement,DEEPVESSEL-FFR presented higher diagnostic performance in determining ischemia-related lesions with area under the curve of 0.928 compare to CTA stenotic severity 0.664.DEEPVESSEL-FFR correlated with FFR(R=0.686,P<0.001),with a mean di&ference of-0.006士0.0091(P=0.619).The secondary evaluation factors,indicating per vessel accuracy,sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value,and negative predictive value were 87.3%,97.14%,75%,82.93%,and 95.45%,respectively.Conclusion DEEPVESSEL-FFR is a novel method that allows efficient assessment of the functional significance of coronary stenosis.

Preventing radiocontrast-induced nephropathy in chronic kidney disease patients undergoing coronary angiography

Radiocontrast-induced nephropathy(RCIN) is an acute and severe complication after coronary angiography,particularly for patients with pre-existing chronic kidney disease(CKD).It has been associated with both short-and long-term adverse outcomes,including the need for renal replacement therapy,increased length of hospital stay,major cardiac adverse events,and mortality.RCIN is generally defined as an increase in serum creatinine concentration of 0.5 mg/dL or 25%above baseline within 48 h after contrast administration.There is no effective therapy once injury has occurred,therefore,prevention is the cornerstone for all patients at risk for acute kidney injury(AKI).There is a small but growing body of evidence that prevention of AKI is associated with a reduction in later adverse outcomes.The optimal strategy for preventing RCIN has not yet been established.This review discusses the principal risk factors for RCIN,evaluates and summarizes the evidence for RCIN prophylaxis,and proposes recommendations for preventing RCIN in CKD patients undergoing coronary angiography.

Coronary CT angiography:Diagnostic value and clinical challenges

Coronary computed tomography(CT)angiography has been increasingly used in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease due to improved spatial and temporal resolution with high diagnostic value being reported when compared to invasive coronary angiography.Diagnostic performance of coronary CT angiography has been significantly improved with the technological developments in multislice CT scanners from the early generation of 4-slice CT to the latest 320-slice CT scanners.Despite the promising diagnostic value,coronary CT angiography is still limited in some areas,such as inferior temporal resolution,motion-related artifacts and high false positive results due to severe calcification.The aim of this review is to present an overview of the technical developments of multislice CT and diagnostic value of coronary CT angiography in coronary artery disease based on different generations of multislice CT scanners.Prognostic value of coronary CT angiography in coronary artery disease is also discussed,while limitations and challenges of coronary CT angiography are highlighted.

Feasibility and accuracy of coronary imaging in elderly patients using the 64-row multi-detector computed tomography: a correlation study with conventional coronary angiography

Background Elderly patients generally have higher occurrence of coronary calcification, increased heart rate and difficulty with prolonged breath-holding. The aim of our study was to investigate the feasibility and accuracy of using 64-row multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) in the assessment of coronary artery stenoses in elderly patients. Methods One hundred and fifty two patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease were divided into 4 groups according to their age (Group A: 40-49 years,n=34; Group B: 50-59 years, n=57; Group C: 60-69 years, n=48; Group D: 70 years and above; n=13). Coronary CT angiography (CTA) using a 64-row MDCT was performed and the findings were compared with that of conventional coronary angiography (CCA).Using axial images, multi-planar reconstructions (MPR) and maximum intensity projections (MIP), coronary segments of lumen diameter = 1.5mm were analyzed for the presence of significant stenosis (= 50% ). Results Percentages of poor image quality from coronary CTA preventing reliable correlations with CCA were 21%, 14%, 19% and 62% in Groups A to D respectively. Patients in Group D had significantly higher calcium scores compared with the other groups (P＜0.001). In patients where CTA images were of acceptable quality, percentages of accurate correlations with CCA were 89.8%, 93.4%, 86.6% and 78.0% for Groups A to D respectively.There were no significant difference in serum creatinine, heart rate and contrast volume between the 4 groups. Conclusions The 64-row MDCT coronary angiography was less accurate and feasible for patients aged 70 years or above due to heavy coronary calcification and inability to perform a satisfactory breath-hold. However, a high diagnostic accuracy with the MDCT is possible in patients aged less than 70 years.