Assessment of left ventricular regional wall motion and ejection fraction with low-radiation dose helical dual-source CT: comparison to two-dimensional echocardiography.

BACKGROUND: Electrocardiographic (ECG)-based tube current modulation during cardiac CT reduces radiation exposure but significantly increases noise in parts of the cardiac cycle where tube current is minimized.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the effect of maximal ECG-based tube current reduction on left ventricular (LV) regional wall motion assessment and ejection fraction (EF) by comparing low-radiation helical dual-source CT (DSCT) to 2-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography (2D-TTE).

METHODS: We studied 83 consecutive patients (15 with prior myocardial infarction) who underwent helically acquired DSCT coronary angiography with maximal ECG-based tube current modulation (low-radiation helical DSCT) and 2D-TTE within a 6-month period (median, 1 day), without any change in clinical status between the studies. In all patients, full tube current was applied only at 70% of the R-R interval, with minimal tube current (4% of maximum) in all other parts of the cardiac cycle. Reduced tube voltage (100 kVp) was combined with the maximal dose modulation in 34 patients. DSCT datasets were evaluated by a blinded, experienced cardiologist. Regional wall motion was assessed with the standard 17-segment model, with each segment scored as normal, hypokinetic, akinetic, and dyskinetic.

RESULTS: Mean effective radiation dose for the low-radiation helical DSCT was 5.2 ± 1.7 mSv. Regional wall motion was evaluable in all segments on low-radiation helical DSCT. There was excellent agreement of wall motion scoring by low-radiation helical DSCT and 2D-TTE in 1382 of 1411 segments (98%; Cohen's κ value 0.83; 95% confidence interval, 0.76-0.89; P < 0.0001). Mean LVEF was 67.6% ± 10.3% on low-radiation helical DSCT and 61.8% ± 10.3% on 2D-TTE (P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION: Low-radiation dose helical coronary CT angiography with maximal ECG-based tube current modulation is comparable to 2D-TTE for regional wall motion and EF assessment.