Influence of Cardiovascular Risk Factors on the Prevalence of Coronary Atherosclerosis in Patients with Angiographically Normal Coronary Arteries.

Rationale And Objectives: Cardiovascular (CV) disease is predominately influenced by CV risk factors and coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) is capable of detecting early-stage coronary artery disease. We sought to determine the influence of CV risk factors on the prevalence of nonobstructive atherosclerosis in patients with normal-appearing coronary arteries in invasive coronary angiography (ICA).

Materials And Methods: In this retrospective analysis, we included 60 consecutive symptomatic patients, having undergone ICA and coronary CTA.

Accuracy of prospectively ECG-triggered very low-dose coronary dual-source CT angiography using iterative reconstruction for the detection of coronary artery stenosis: comparison with invasive catheterization.

Objective: To evaluate the image quality and diagnostic accuracy of very low-dose computed tomography (CT) angiography (CTA) for the evaluation of coronary artery stenosis.

Background: Iterative reconstruction (IR) has shown to substantially reduce image noise and hence permit the use of very low-dose data acquisition protocols in coronary CTA.

Methods: Fifty symptomatic patients with an intermediate likelihood for coronary artery disease underwent coronary CTA (heart rate: 59 ± 5 bpm, prospectively ECG-triggered axial acquisition, 100 kV, 160 mAs, 2 × 128 × 0.

Stent evaluation in low-dose coronary CT angiography: effect of different iterative reconstruction settings.

Background: Different iterative reconstruction (IR) techniques compensate increased noise from lower tube current-time product settings, yet the differences between IR settings remain unclear.

Objective: Aim of this study was to test whether different IR settings have a clinically relevant influence on image quality and on the diagnostic accuracy of low-dose CT angiography in patients with a stent.

Methods: Forty-two patients with 73 coronary stents were prospectively enrolled.

Automated attenuation-based selection of tube voltage and tube current for coronary CT angiography: reduction of radiation exposure versus a BMI-based strategy with an expert investigator.

Background: Recently developed automated algorithms use the topogram and the corresponding attenuation information before coronary CT angiography (CTA) to allow for an individualized anatomic-based selection of tube current (mAs) and voltage (kV).

Objectives: The value of these algorithms in reducing the associated radiation exposure was evaluated.

Methods: One hundred patients underwent coronary CTA with dual-source CT with prospectively electrocardiogram-triggered axial data acquisition.

Intravenous infusion of ascorbic acid decreases serum histamine concentrations in patients with allergic and non-allergic diseases.

Histamine plays an important role in the development of symptoms in allergic, infectious, neoplastic and other diseases. Empirical findings have suggested beneficial effects of ascorbic acid supplementation in those diseases, and these effects are assumed to be related to a possible decrease in systemic histamine concentration. In the present study, we systematically investigated for the first time the effect of 7.

Low-dose dual-source CT angiography with iterative reconstruction for coronary artery stent evaluation.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the image quality and diagnostic accuracy of very low-dose, dual-source computed tomography (DSCT) angiography for the evaluation of coronary stents.

Background: Iterative reconstruction (IR) leads to substantial reduction of image noise and hence permits the use of very low-dose data acquisition protocols in coronary computed tomography angiography.

Methods: Fifty symptomatic patients with 87 coronary stents (diameter 3.

Image quality of ultra-low radiation exposure coronary CT angiography with an effective dose <0.1 mSv using high-pitch spiral acquisition and raw data-based iterative reconstruction.

Objectives: We evaluated the potential of prospectively ECG-triggered high-pitch spiral acquisition with low tube voltage and current in combination with iterative reconstruction to achieve coronary CT angiography with sufficient image quality at an effective dose below 0.1 mSv.

Methods: Contrast-enhanced coronary dual source CT angiography (2 × 128 × 0.