ABSTRACT
Purpose: This study aimed to examine the relationship of perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) stranding in coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and the determinants of PVAT stranding in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. Material and methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was done by collecting data from CAD patients who were referred to Rajaie Cardiovascular Centre between January 2018 and September 2020, with CCTA and hsCRP test 72 hours apart from the CCTA. PVAT stranding was defined as irregular obscuration of PVAT adjacent to the coronary arteries. An attempt was made to find a correlation between included variables and PVAT stranding by comparing them between 2 groups: patients with and without PVAT stranding. Results: From 92 patients, 31 participants had PVAT stranding, and statistically significant higher levels of hsCRP were detected in them (p = 0.007). We demonstrated significantly higher prevalence of history of hyperlipidaemia (OR = 3.83, p = 0.029), high-risk plaque features (OR = 11.80, p = 0.015), and obstructive coronary luminal stenosis (OR = 3.25, p = 0.025) in patients with PVAT stranding. Also, significantly higher PVAT attenuation was detected in patients with PVAT stranding (p < 0.001) independently from mean attenuation of epicardial fat. Conclusion: PVAT stranding could be used as a novel non-invasive marker in CCTA of CAD patients. More studies focusing on patient outcomes are required to better evaluate the reliability and prognostic value of this marker.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has prompted the further virtualization of medical education. The satisfaction level of specific users such as cardiology residents with virtual education can augment its quality; hence, the significance of a valid and reliable questionnaire to obtain feedback is needed. This study aimed to design and measure validity and reliability of a satisfaction questionnaire for virtual education of cardiology residents during COVID-19 pandemic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, a self-administered questionnaire was developed by the faculty members of Rajaie Cardiovascular Medical and Research Center. Reliability was tested utilizing Cronbach's alpha and intercorrelation which was tested using Pearson's correlation coefficient test (ICC). Factor analysis was done by the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy and Bartlett's sphericity test. The statistical analyses were performed with the SPSS software version 22. RESULTS: The face validity index was determined via an assessment of the relevance, clarity, and simplicity of each item, and values >0.79 were accepted. The total Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated 0.93. Concerning test-retest reliability, the correlation between two rounds of evaluation was >80 (P > 0.001) and ICC was 0.99 (P = 0.001). The content validity evaluation yielded an index of 0.95 and a ratio of 0.91. The principal component factor analysis, conducted to investigate construct validity, generated four domains. CONCLUSIONS: The study results confirmed the validity and reliability of the designed questionnaire to evaluate the level of satisfaction of cardiology residents with virtual learning in COVID-19 pandemic.
