[Adenosine stress protocols for myocardial perfusion imaging].

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Nuclear Medicine
• Diagnostic Imaging

Background:

• Coronary artery disease (CAD) assessment often uses treadmill tests with myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (MPS).
• Patients unable to perform treadmill tests require pharmacological stress protocols for MPS.
• Adenosine-based pharmacological stress tests, with or without exercise, are common for MPS.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and compare two adenosine pharmacological stress protocols for MPS.
• To evaluate and compare the side effects, image quality, and acquisition timing of AdenoEX and AdenoSCAN.
• To standardize diagnostic imaging onset time for both protocols.

Main Methods:

• 130 patients underwent adenosine pharmacological stress tests.
• 108 patients received concomitant low-level exercise (AdenoEX) via bicycle ergometer.
• 28 patients underwent the abbreviated Adenosine SCAN protocol.

Main Results:

• AdenoEX demonstrated fewer side effects (62%) compared to AdenoSCAN (87%).
• AdenoEX offered improved safety, patient tolerance, and target-to-background ratios.
• AdenoEX facilitated earlier acquisition and enhanced sensitivity.

Conclusions:

• Adenosine pharmacological stress combined with exercise (AdenoEX) enhances safety and efficacy.
• AdenoEX is recommended over AdenoSCAN when feasible for MPS.
• The AdenoEX protocol improves diagnostic outcomes in CAD assessment.