ABSTRACT
Objective To evaluate the clinical value of multi-slice spiral CT (MSCT)in the screening of coronary artery lesions in elderly patients with diabetes mellitus.Methods MSCT and coronary angiography(CAG)were performed in 136 elderly patients(68 patients with diabetes and 68 patients without diabetes).The number of diseased coronary segments and the plaque type (noncalcified,mixed and calcified)for each patient were determined.The characteristics of coronary lesions were compared between patients with and without diabetes.The sensitivity and specificity of MSCT were evaluated.Results More noncalcified and calcified plaques and few ermixed plaques were observed in patients with diabetes,compared with patients without diabetes(noncalcified plagues:10 cases or 14.7％ vs.4 cases or 5.9％;calcified plagues:47 cases or 69.1％ vs.39 cases or 57.4％)(P＜ 0.05).In addition,diabetic patients showed a significantly higher frequency of multivessel disease(P＜0.05).Furthermore,MSCT was able to clearly show stenosis and plaque type in the trunk and branches of the coronary artery,with a sensitivity of 91.0％,a specificity of 95.0％,a positive predictive value of 93％ and a negative predictive value of 96.0％.Conclusions Diabetes is associated with a higher risk of coronary artery disease.MSCT can effectively detect the characteristics of coronary artery disease in diabetic patients and is an effective,noninvasive,and safe screening method.