Enhancement performance of a 64-slice triple rule-out protocol vs 16-slice and 10-slice multidetector CT-angiography protocols for evaluation of aortic and pulmonary vasculature.

Objective: To compare the enhancement of the pulmonary and aortic vasculature between a biphasic injection 64-slice, a single-phase injection 16-slice, and a single-phase injection 10-slice multidetector computed tomographic (CT) angiography (CTA) protocols.

Methods: With institutional review board approval and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliance, 50 patients (16 men, 34 women; mean age, 51.5 years; range, 30-75 years) with atypical chest pain from the emergency department were scanned using a triple rule-out protocol on a 64-slice CT scanner.

Atypical chest pain: coronary, aortic, and pulmonary vasculature enhancement at biphasic single-injection 64-section CT angiography.

Purpose: To prospectively evaluate the enhancement of coronary, pulmonary, and thoracic aortic vasculature by using biphasic single-acquisition 64-section computed tomographic (CT) angiography and to prospectively evaluate if differences in right side of the heart and coronary venous enhancement interfere with interpretation of coronary arteries.

Materials And Methods: With internal review board approval and HIPAA compliance, 50 patients (16 men, 34 women; mean age, 51.5 years; range, 30-75 years) with atypical chest pain were referred from the emergency department and were imaged with a 64-section CT scanner after premedication with oral atenolol and/or intravenous metoprolol.