Coronary arterial plaque characterized by multislice computed tomography predicts complications following coronary...

A reliable, noninvasive assessment of plaque configuration would constitute an important step forward for predicting complications following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Multislice computed tomography (MSCT) holds promise with respect to allowing for differentiation of coronary lesion configuration. However, it has not yet been clarified whether the characteristics of coronary artery plaque measured by MSCT predict complications after PCI. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between plaque configuration and complications after coronary intervention in patients with stable angina pectoris.

MSCT was performed in patients with angina pectoris who were scheduled for PCI prospectively, and 26 patients (70 +/- 11 years, 18 males) with coronary artery plaque in a stenotic coronary artery measured by MSCT were recruited for this study. Thirty-five plaques in the stenotic coronary lesions were divided into 3 groups based on the CT density as soft, intermediate, and hard, and were compared with the complications after PCI.

The soft plaque group before PCI (n = 11) was significantly associated with the appearance of slow flow (n = 4) or a compromised side branch (n = 1) after PCI, whereas the hard plaque group before PCI (n = 17) was associated with the appearance of dissection (n = 2) or perforation (n = 1) after PCI (P = 0.004). The intermediate plaque group (n = 7) had only one complication, a compromised side branch (n = 1).

Coronary arterial plaque characterized by MSCT can predict intervention-related complication. It may be important for the risk stratification of the patients scheduled to undergo PCI to investigate plaque configuration by MSCT.