Cardiac-CT and cardiac-MR cost-effectiveness: a literature review.

Cardiovascular diseases are still among the first causes of death worldwide with a huge impact on healthcare systems. Within these conditions, the correct diagnosis of coronary artery disease with the most appropriate imaging-based evaluations is of utmost importance. The sustainability of the healthcare systems, considering the high economic burden of modern cardiac imaging equipments, makes cost-effective analysis an important tool, currently used for weighing different costs and health outcomes, when policy makers have to allocate funds and to prioritize interventions, getting the most out of their financial resources. This review aims at evaluating cost-effective analysis in the more recent literature, focused on the role of Calcium Score, coronary computed tomography angiography and cardiac magnetic resonance.

Normal anatomy and variants of the venous cardiac system in MDCT coronary angiography.

Three separate venous systems drain the blood returning from the heart walls. These veins are characterised by remarkable variability in terms of frequency, size and course. The knowledge of cardiac venous anatomy is of primary importance during interventional cardiac procedures that require catheterisation of cardiac veins. Some anatomical variants may hinder or contraindicate access to target veins. Coronary angiography (CA) with multidetector computed tomography (MDCT-CA) and multiplanar reformations (MPR), maximum intensity projection (MIP) and 3D reconstructions provides noninvasive visualisation of normal cardiac veins and anatomical variants. The purpose of this pictorial review is to describe by MDCT-CA the anatomy and main variants of the cardiac venous system.

Learning curve in multidetector CT coronary angiography (MDCT-CA).

PURPOSE: Coronary angiography using multidetector computed tomography (MDCT-CA) is a recent technique for the nonivasive study of coronary arteries. This study assessed the diagnostic accuracy of coronary artery stenosis evaluation obtained by three readers at different levels of training or at different points of the learning curve proposed by the international guidelines. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three radiologists in training with different levels of experience in MDCT-CA scored 50 cases at various time points of the learning curve: baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks and 6 months. The trainee radiologists evaluated the degree of stenosis on each coronary segment, and overall accuracy was calculated on a per-segment, pervessel and per-patient basis. RESULTS: All readers improved analysis accuracy per segment (range, 73-90%); sensitivity reached 45% per segment, 84% per vessel and 93% per patient; specificity was 99% per segment and vessel and 98% per patient. Positive and negative predictive values increased to 94% and 92%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Although all readers improved in diagnostic performance with growing experience with MDCT-CA, a longer training period may be necessary to achieve adequate levels of expertise in MDCT-CA to be able to perform as independent readers.

Coronary artery anatomy and variants.

Variants and congenital anomalies of the coronary arteries are usually asymptomatic, but may present with severe chest pain or cardiac arrest. The introduction of multidetector CT coronary angiography (MDCT-CA) allows the detection of significant coronary artery stenosis. Improved performance with isotropic spatial resolution and higher temporal resolution provides a valid alternative to conventional coronary angiography (CCA) in many patients. MDCT-CA is now considered the ideal tool for three-dimensional visualization of the complex and tortuous anatomy of the coronary arteries. With multiplanar and volume-rendered reconstructions, MDCT-CA may even outperform CCA in determining the relative position of vessels, thus providing a better view of the coronary vascular anatomy. The purpose of this review is to describe the normal anatomy of the coronary arteries and their main variants based on MDCT-CA with appropriate reconstructions.