Chinese Journal Of Clinical Anatomy ›› 2015, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (3): 269-272.doi: 10.13418/j.issn.1001-165x.2015.03.008

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Ex vivo evaluation of dual-source CT detecting and characterizing the coronary atherosclerotic plaques

LIU Yun-fei1,   MA Yan-he2,   WANG Chang-yue1   

  1. 1.Department of Anatomy and Histoembryology,Tianjin Medical University,Tianjin 300070,China;
    2.Department of Radiology,Tianjin Chest Hospital,Tianjin 300051,China
  • Received:2014-08-09 Online:2015-05-25 Published:2015-07-24

Abstract:

Objective   To evaluate the ability of dual-source CT contrast enhancement scanning detecting and characterizing the coronary atherosclerotic plaques.   Methods    Coronary arteries were scanned by contrasted-enhanced DSCT with an axial slice thickness of 0.6 mm. According to the CT attenuation values, plaques were classified as calcified, mixed and non-calcified. Histopathologic classification was considered the standard of reference.    Results   Histopathology detected 75 plaques, among which 63 plaques were found at DSCT.  The sensitivity of DSCT for detecting all plaques was 84%(63/75), for detecting I-III type plaques was 0%, for detecting IV type、Va type、Vb type and Vc type plaques were 77.8% 、80% 、97.9% and 85.7%, respectively. The mean CT attenuation values of calcified、mixed and non-calcified (416.5±94.4 HU, 142.8±48.6 HU, 46.3±34.2 HU, respectively; p<0.05) were significantly different. There was significant difference between the mean attenuation values of predominantly lipid-rich and fiber-rich plaques (30.4±24.4 HU and 73.3±23.3 HU, respectively; P<0.01). Conclusion Dual-source CT contrast enhancement scanning can detect different types of coronary atherosclerotic plaques. The plaque mean CT attenuation values can represent predominant plaque component which were correlated well with histopathologic classification.

Key words: Dual-source computer tomography, Coronary atherosclerotic plaque, Histopathology