Indications, imaging technique, and reading of cardiac computed tomography: survey of clinical practice

Abstract

Cardiac CT has rapidly become established in clinical practice, and there is emerging consensus regarding indications, conduct of the acquisition, and reading.

DNA double-strand breaks as potential indicators for the biological effects of ionising radiation exposure from cardiac CT and conventional coronary angiography: a randomised, controlled study

“…The results are likely transferable to CT systems with different configuration although further studies are recommended to evaluate this. It should be pointed out that these results are reported from a CT device different from most of those currently in use [55,56]. Many centres continue to use CTA with 64 detectors which result in a longer duration of radiation.…”

Current utilization of cardiac computed tomography in mainland China: A national survey

“…The last 7 questions (No. [19][20][21][22][23][24][25] referred to the storage and interpretation of cardiac CT data sets (e.g., overall duration), and the future needs for cardiac CT.…”

“…Fourth, the maturity of cardiac CT varied, e.g. CCTA procedure volumes varied from the United States, Germany, and Taiwan 2,5,20,30 . Second, CCTA charge was excluded as it is fixed by provincial governments.…”

Safety of intravenous β‐adrenoceptor blockers for computed tomographic coronary angiography

“…For example at higher heart rates, the scanning time is increased to include more of the cardiac cycle in order to identify an optimally motion-free phase, or to allow the analysis of multiple phases to overcome the otherwise limited image quality. The use of β-adrenoceptor blockers to achieve heart rate control is well established, most commonly with metoprolol [3], although centres vary widely in their choice of agent, administration route and dose. Although recent European data suggest a trend towards increasingly aggressive use of β-adrenoceptor blockade [3], there is little literature documenting the safety of this approach, and guidelines for practitioners have recommended conservative dosing regimens [4,5].…”

“…The use of β-adrenoceptor blockers to achieve heart rate control is well established, most commonly with metoprolol [3], although centres vary widely in their choice of agent, administration route and dose. Although recent European data suggest a trend towards increasingly aggressive use of β-adrenoceptor blockade [3], there is little literature documenting the safety of this approach, and guidelines for practitioners have recommended conservative dosing regimens [4,5]. While defensively safe, such protocols result in a substantial proportion of patients failing to meet the target heart rate [5,6], with the potential implications of poorer image quality and greater radiation exposure.…”